Reversed
by MassivelyMinute
Summary: What if RR was sent as a baby to MM's home planet to survive, instead of vice versa? The sun is dying, Earth with it. When two infants are sent to a blue planet, ancient secrets are uncovered. Newest: Roxanne goes in search of Bernard to warn him of the danger, and is shocked by the events that follow.
1. Farewell, Earth

I've been updating this story over on the Megamind Live Journal Community, and decided to post it here too. It's my first fanfiction, so I hope you enjoy, read, review, critique, give thoughts, ideas, corrects, and all that jazz. I'll update over on Live Journal more than here, so if you enjoy this story, you can continue reading there! There are also sketches and drawings and notes over there about this story as well, all under the same author name "MassivelyMinute".

**Chapter 1: Farewell, Earth**

"This is a bitter hello, fair citizens of Metro City. Reporting live from the city's observatory, it has been confirmed by experts that the sun is surely dying. Our star's diameter is increasing at an alarming pace, and will soon become a planetary nebula. The earth will be a dry, burning mass by that time. The cause of this sudden expansion is uncertain, and is not the fate previously predicted for the solar system," The male reporter paused for a shaky breath. "Don't bother hiding underground or saving your selves, all attempts at survival are futile in this event. Use the remaining time you have to spend with loved ones, make final amends, do what you've wanted to do that you've been putting off, and say your final words. Expect death in the coming weeks. This is truly the end of the world as we know it, folks. This is Danny Baker signing off for the last time for KMCP News Channel 8. Coming up next, hear what the president has to say on the matter." The young man spoke from the TV with shimmering eyes and a quivering voice.

The broad cast was ignored by two astronauts where the flashing screen was perched in the high corner of the room from the ceiling, walking quickly past it and down the bleach white and steel gray corridor. The pair, a brunette woman with a round face and a blonde man blue eyes and freckles, sped up when they spotted the large door they were looking for. In the woman's arms was an eight day old baby girl.

Sirens were blaring through the walls from outside, declaring loudly that dooms day was approaching.

"You know this is probably pointless. You heard what Houston said, even with all of our technological breakthroughs, the rockets just aren't ready! There's no way one would be able to travel far enough to reach a new home planet." The woman dreaded, clutching the child closer to her breast as they walked side by side into the large room.

The man sighed, glancing down at the baby from the corner of his eye. "Amelia, we have to try. If there's the slightest chance of success, we have to take it." He said determinedly, only his face giving away his own concerns. "She's our only child; I'm not going to let her perish in fire and radiation after less than a month of life. Not if I can help it."

Amelia frowned, but nodded. "Okay…okay Rodger, you're right. But, what if – what _if_ she _does_ make it and the people of the blue planet don't care for her? All attempts of contact have failed in the past; we have no idea what they're like! What if they treat her horribly? What if they send her back into space? What if – Oh God, Rodger - what if they dissect her?" The mother was now all but hugging the life out of her daughter as nightmarish thoughts flashed through her head. She didn't dare utter that her daughter might just starve to death alone in space before ever getting that far.

"Amelia!" The man grabbed the woman by the shoulders in a moment of frustration, then calmed after viewing the pure sadness, fear, and love within his wife's eyes. His grip softened and turned into a gentle hug, sandwiching the baby between them. "That won't happen, Darling, I promise. This is what's best for her. This is the best chance she has." He slowly took the girl from her mother's arms and carried her to a bulky one-person shuttle. Inside the seat had been modified for an infant passenger. He securely fastened her into the cockpit; buckles and belts criss-crossed her tiny body.

Amelia reached into her purse and brought out a plush, white teddy bear nearly the size of the baby. It had a pink ribbon bowtie around its neck, a sown-on smile and nose, simple arms and legs which lacked toes and dull black eyes that glimmered to life at the woman's touch.

"Abraham, are you fully functional?" Amelia asked in a clear voice.

"Yes, I am fully functional, Mrs. Ritchi." The teddy bear responded in a smooth, robotic voice that mimicked a young boy.

"Demonstrate your maneuverability."

It flexed all of its joints using its hidden robotic skeleton at her command.

"Do you recall your directive?"

"Yes. I am prepared for my mission. You can trust in my competence, Mrs. Ritchi."

She nodded, and handed the bear to the baby girl, who was reaching for it with grabby hands. "Here is your Teddy Bear."

"And here is your pacifier," The father added, placing the simple pink sucker in his daughters mouth, which she accepted eagerly. She was wearing a pastel pink onesy that said "My Parents Are Out Of This World" next to a cartoony spaceship. Amelia laughed without humor at the irony, suddenly regretting the outfit she had chosen for her baby that morning. It was a cruel joke.

Rodger stroked the girls thick blond baby hair fondly, "We love you Roxanne. I know you don't understand yet, but we're doing this for you. We love you, so, so much…" Each parent gave their child one last kiss on the foreheard.

Baby Roxanne didn't understand, but looking at her mom's crumpling face and her dad's wet cheeks, her undeveloped brain suddenly comprehended something tragic was about to happen. Big blue eyes moistened, and the pacifier shook a few times before falling from her mouth in a confused wail as the hatch was closed down in front of her. All she could do now was peek though a small glass window about the size of her face.

Without a word, the parents walked away from the spacecraft, opened up the ceiling with the push of a button, and launched their only daughter into outer space as she cried.


	2. The Life Changing Voyage

**Chapter 2: The Life Changing Voyage**

Amelia stood near a monitor, studying the screen's contents intently. "The fuel in the second engine is about to be empty." She announced in a practiced voice.

"Good, good. It's all going according to plan." Rodger replied, pleased. Something on the computer he stood before flashed, and he smiled widely. "Engine three has successfully ignited and the previous vehicle has completed its separation. That's the end of stage two of the launch. Roxanne is flying out of Earth's atmosphere." He stated confidently.

He walked towards his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. They stayed silent as they stared at an unbelievably bright full moon though the gap in the roof, through which their child had exited. The light reflecting off of the satellite's surface was now intensified from the growing sun. The sky was no longer midnight blue, but a lighter shade. Clouds were absent and the stars twinkled down at them like curious eyes watching everything unfold. Suddenly the calm sky was interrupted by what appeared to be a shooting star.

"Did you see that?" Rodger asked, breaking the silence and pointing up. "That had to have been a sign, a good omen." He tightened his embrace and kissed the back of Amelia's head.

She smiled weakly, "Yes that must have been what it was," she agreed as sweat began to shine on her brow and neck in the foreboding moonlight. The temperature was already starting to increase. These were the first labor pains of the impending doom.

* * *

><p>The shuttle was past Mars within seconds, and not long after was leaving Pluto behind it. Roxanne's terrified screams increased at the turbulence that came with the stages of the launch and leaving Earth's atmosphere and orbit, and only when a nursery rhyme started to play somewhere within the teddy bear she was clinging too did she begin to calm. She sniffed, silenced, and stared as the stuffed toy stood up on her lap and stared back.<p>

"That is correct, Ms. Ritchi, it is alright to be calm now. My name is Abraham Inkling, and I am here to care for you," the bear spoke as the songs continued to play. "You do not need to fear, for I shall protect you. Now I believe it is time for you to be freed from your harness so that we may relocate to the internal room of this shuttle and activate the gravity." The child's voice it used sounded happy and enthusiastic.

Roxanne had not a _clue_ what Abraham was saying, but was comforted by the music and his voice. She smiled and, after he had managed to unbuckle her by using robot fingers concealed within his cushiony animal exterior, took hold of the arm he offered her and floated through the door behind her seat and into the next chamber as the tune of _Marry had a little lamb _played. She giggled at the sensation of being weightless.

The room was large enough for an average adult to move around comfortably and not feel cramped, but more than one person would have made it claustrophobic. What appeared to be windows above the panels of buttons and knobs were actually screens on either of two parallel walls presenting a live feed of the outside of the shuttle via cameras. Abraham led the way with Roxanne being tugged behind him all the way to the opposite side of the room where a leaver was waiting to be pulled. Once it was pulled, the two slowly fell to the floor until the false gravity was equal to the gravity on Earth. What should have been a hard metal floor was replaced with cushion. The room contained everything the teddy bear would need to take care of the child in the place of a parent for the days they would be on their own in space.

Abraham was entertainment, mental stimulation, and caregiver all in one. This was how the pair lived during their journey.

* * *

><p>Engine three had endured approximately five Earth days of extreme high speed space travel when it, although still containing fuel, failed. An odd conking-out noise was heard within the cabin and Abraham paused the game of peek-a-boo he had been playing with Roxanne to jump up onto the control panel and view the new information displayed on one of the monitors. Roxanne watched in confusion.<p>

"The engine has died, Ms. Ritchi, but do not fear. We will continue at the same speed as long as we don't hit anything, which is unlikely for we are in space. Landing will be rougher, however." He leaped back down, kneeled in front of Roxanne and covered his face with his paws, "Now once again, Ms. Ritchi, where have I disappeared too?" After a pause he quickly uncovered his face with a _"Here I am!"_ which was followed by a belly-laugh from Roxanne.

* * *

><p>It was a pattern that Abraham would turn off the gravity and place Roxanne back into the seat of the cockpit to sleep after appropriate hours past. This was Roxanne's location on the eighth day when a star with five planets, one of them the desired destination, came zooming into view from the blackness. The teddy bear was viewing this through the small window, when a high-pitched Siren began echoing though the craft. As the baby started to cry he ventured into the cabin and watched the window like screens. The one on the right showed another, similarly designed rocket presumably from Earth coming closer at an alarming speed. It was slowly rotating as it neared, and revealed another infant's face peering through a tiny window – the face had rich brown eyes and a single wispy blonde curl sprouting from top of its head.<p>

Tiny green ones and zeros danced across the bear's beady eyes as he quickly took in this new information and came to a conclusion, and then he propelled himself back towards Roxanne. He positioned himself above her protectively, his limbs bracing him there against the edges of the seat. "Prepare for impact, Ms. Ritchi," he said casually and as though she could understand.

When the two rockets collided, the one containing the brown-eyed child ricocheted into the opposite direction, heading straight towards the third planet; the planet was larger than the blue one and had a golden hued atmosphere. Roxanne's shuttle was rocked violently, and was redirected towards a field of medium sized asteroids of various shapes.

The ship was battered by the space debris continuously, testing the materials strength. It held out, but soon the teddy and child were left in darkness as the lights within flickered and died. By the time it exited the obstacle course, the only parts of the ship that were functioning were the ventilation system, which continued to filter breathable air though the cabin and cockpit, and the temperature regulator.

The pair were left stranded alone the open, so very close yet so very far from their goal. The shuttle orbited the large star as the newest satellite of the solar system. Roxanne cried incessantly. Abraham sat on her lap doing nothing to stop her.


	3. The Discovery

**Chapter 3: The Discovery**

After a while of screaming in the dark, Abraham's programming made him take action. The darkness was cut by a sudden light emanating from the bear's electronic core. The abrupt disturbance was enough to make Roxanne pause in her crying; Abraham took the opportunity to sooth her. Once she was fully calm and silenced, he floated into the other room to experimentally pull the gravity lever, to discover the emulator was still working. Turning it off, he brought Roxanne into the cabin and activated the gravity again. Acting as a night light, Abraham was still able to care for her in the less than suitable situation. He started to do something rather odd, however.

During moments of peace and contentment, the teddy would cut his light and do something to cause Roxanne to cry in the darkness. Knock her over when she was sitting up, snatch her pacifier from her mouth, wake her up, or scare her with loud sounds of static and hissing noises – anything to upset her while also not causing her harm – physical harm anyway. In this way she would not associate fear and distress with the teddy bear, but unfortunately associate the emotion with darkness instead. When rest and baby maintenance was unneeded, Roxanne would spend her time wailing in the dark. This behavior was not out of malice, though, in fact the robot had good intentions – good intentions that eventually paid off.

On a distant blue planet, two blue men, wearing blue trimmed clothing, sat at two computers with blue screens. Reviewing the screens contents sleepily, one man suddenly perked up as a window popped up on the face of the computer with a red line that was zigzagging erratically. Blinking at the line a few times, he eventually nudged his partner for his attention.

"Hey, hey look at this. Giant Satellite 3A has detected a noise in its assigned area of the quadrant." The man with the red line on his screen spoke in a language unique to the blue world. He had an angular face with golden eyes with streaks of green.

"Oh yeah, look at that. But then why aren't we hearing anything?" The second man with a rounder face and grey-brown eyes replied.

"I think it must be muted for some reason, let me fix that." With a quick few finger pecks at some buttons, he unmuted the machine….and instantly regretted it. The room was soon filled with earsplitting screams which rose and fell with the dramatic dancing of the red line.

"AH! What in Glaupunk is that! Why is it so loud!"

"I don't know! I wasn't the last person to use this computer!"

"Well turn the volume down already!"

"I'm trying I'm trying!" The golden-eyed man then proceeded to button-mash control panel frantically while the other man pressed his hands to his ears, the sound too agonizing to allow him to think straight. Finally he managed to decrease the volume to a more reasonable level. The two then continued to listen to the sound thoughtfully. "It…it sounds like an infant." The man with the golden eyes ventured.

"An infant? What would a baby be doing in space, Derex?"

"Do you have a better identity for the noise, Reggen?"

"No, but I can't wrap my head around the concept, which is saying something." Reggen indicated his large cranium, which would have been impressive by human standards.

Derex groaned, "Your humor never ceases to be original. Shut up and check the telescope to see if we can't find where the sound is coming from."

Reggen faced his own computer again and put his hands to work. Soon a live feed was presented on the screen. Using what looked like a joystick, he maneuvered the lens until it pointed in the direction the other computer indicated was the source. What they saw was a white piece of foreign machinery – some kind of shuttle - completely covered in craters; it presumably had been pulverized by the asteroids located directly behind it.

The two men quickly gathered their gear, got into their own shuttle, and lifted off to investigate, using far more advanced technology. In a ship which greatly resembled an earth manaray fish in both appearance and movement, they reached the pathetic thing within minutes, which was then gathered into a jaw-like opening by two fin-like appendages, where it was thoroughly decontaminated for any alien bacteria or organisms.

The blue people approached the metal chunk, now inside the larger ship, wearing full coverage body suits, taking zero chances before opening it up when the decontamination process had no yet been repeated on the inside – that would happen after whatever was inside was removed. Opening the hatch, they gasped in unison when what appeared to be some kind of hairy, orange baby in pink clothing gazed back at them with glazed blue eyes. Neither had truly expected an actual _infant_ to be the cause of the sound.

"Y-you- you were right, it is an infant," Reggen stuttered breathlessly.

"It's not povoiran is it?" Derex offered.

"No, it doesn't have the same body build that povoiran children have at this age."

"Well, there's one way to know for sure!" And with that Derex didn't hesitate to remove Roxanne from her harness and toss her into the air to see if she would fly or fall, easily catching her when she managed to do the later and efficiently caused her to scream. Reggen cringed.

"Was that really necessary?"

"No," Derex admitted with a laugh, bringing the infant closer to him in his arms. "Look at those blue eyes. It seems that's the only thing that doesn't come in that color on our planet, our eyes. Lucky baby." It was at that time something else emerged from the broken craft. Abraham hopped into the now empty seat and attempted to communicate something with his arms. Questioning what he was out loud was unneeded as they shared a disbelieving glance. "I …I think that…_thing_ wants us to remove the chair."

"That…that can wait for when we get back to Caelumar," Reggen decided, still staring at the odd fuzzy white robot thing with the pink ribbon. "In the mean time, let's get these two and the interior of this piece of scrap decontaminated."

Once they had safely returned to the planet known as Caelumar, and after more determinedly animated body language from Abraham, they removed the seat from the cockpit to reveal a hidden compartment filled with strange items. Upon closer inspection Derex and Reggen discovered a bounty of informational books, items, and devices which would thoroughly explain the languages, cultures, natures, histories and ways of earth to any sentient being that was capable of learning and was unfamiliar with such things. The collection began with basic things such as pictures, sounds, and videos, and became more advanced for after comprehension had been accomplished. It had been prepared by the team of astronauts for any possible successful intelligent extraterrestrial encounter they might be lucky enough to have in their lift times in order to quicken future communications and understandings between the two life-forms – human and not. In case the baby's space travel succeeded, the parents had the foresight to include this set of the complete knowledge of earth for the benefit of the child's care.

Also included in the compartment by the child's parents was a list of details concerning the baby to be interpreted after the people of the blue planet knew how to read it with the assistance of the knowledge set, which would thoroughly explain human letters, words, and grammar for all languages. The list held information such as proper diet, known allergies, hygiene, growth, development, and any other essential facts about Roxanne.

Reggen became impressed by this treasure chest of knowledge about the distant world, apparently from a nearby star the planet of super geniuses had somehow managed to overlook in their from-home exploration of the galaxy. They would be disappointed once they learned the star named Sun was now nonexistent, as were the planets surrounding it. Derex, however, was busying himself in trying to discover what gender the alien baby was. "What should we do with…uh…_her?_" He asked after concluding Roxanne was in fact female.

Reggen walked over and gave the child what appeared to be a pink primitive form of binky. "That," he stated, "is an excellent question."


	4. Feral Child

**Chapter 4: Feral Child**

"But I wanna go to shool!"

"The answer is _no, _just like the answer was _no _the last time, and it will still be _no _the next time you ask!"

"That's not fair; I wanna be with children my age. I just want friends! You don't think I know how to make friends? I can learn how to make friends! I can learn lots of things!"

"It'll be no good for you. You can learn plenty of things here."

"But it's boring here, mother!"

"What have I told you? Don't you call me mother, don't you ever call me that! Do you understand, Human?"

"…Yes, I understand. I'm sorry Nannarry." Roxanne, now a five year old girl by both Earth and Caelumar standards, quietly apologized to the older woman and squeezed Abraham to her chest. She had been taken to live with Nannarry by her two space saviors, Reggen and Derex, after they had decided she was the best guardian for the baby. Nannarry was the owner of a facility called the Life Center, a place completely dedicated to the open knowledge and exposure of living things for the general population's observational and educational was not unlike an earth zoo or aquarium, besides being clearly more advance and with different creatures. Animals were placed in replicas of their natural habitats and were given everything they needed to have a good wellbeing. This was also where Nannarry lived. With her vast knowledge of animal behaviors and biology, the two men were certain the woman would be able care for Earthling better than anyone. In addition, Reggen and Derex had taken all of what was contained in the information kit and interpreted, documented, cataloged, and downloaded it into multiple small disks that could be utilized by a reasonably sized handheld device, for both Roxanne and Nannarry's usage.

Nannarry lived up to the men's expectations. Roxanne was probably the healthiest little human child to ever live with her routine exercises, ideal sleeping schedule, and perfect diet designed based on the information kit that came with Roxanne in her arrival. Of course the foods of this planet were different, though strikingly similar in some aspects, but Nannarry was able to identify Caelumarian equivalents, and Roxanne was given a balance of various edibles that best benefited her development and growth. Roxanne was very bright – for her species – and had begun to speak in broken sentences in the native language of the area before the age of two. She learned quickly with the mental stimulation Nannarry provided for her.

Indeed, Nannarry was an excellent caregiver. It was only in giving affection was she lacking. Kissing, hugging, and any other form of touching of any kind was not tolerated unless necessary. Nannarry wouldn't even call Roxanne by her name. She would only ever refer to her has "Human". But above all, Roxanne was never to call Nannarry "mother". Roxanne did not understand this – why should a mother figure not want to be called mother, or mom even? But she was wise enough not to question it. Occasionally, however, it would slip, and she would be disciplined one way or another, or Nannarry would simply send her to her room. This was the current situation.

Under the piercing silver gaze of her guardian, and with the directing point of stiff blue fingers, Roxanne slipped behind her door and onto her simple, white bed that had no legs and merely jutted out of the wall. Leaning against the wall, she hugged Abraham close and rubbed his nose. This was a habit she developed over the years. She would rub his smooth nose with one finger whenever she felt bad, it seemed to sooth her. The threads that made his simple nose were starting to wear down.

"Abby, does Nanna hate me?" She asked her teddy bear sadly.

"I do not think she hates you, she only dislikes you momentarily." He replied in his child-like voice.

"I don't think she loves me though," She said, continuing to rub his nose.

"Ms. Ritchi, I do not believe that this is the case."

"But if she loved me, wouldn't she let me go to shool? Wouldn't she want me to have friends?"

"I am your friend, Ms. Ritchi."

"But I want more friends! I want friends like the kids I see out the windows when they come to see the animals. They look happy and fun to be with." She whined, letting go of Abraham and crossing her arms with a pout. Abraham took the opportunity to get off her lap and sit in front of her instead. He stared at her with his glimmering dark eyes and perpetual smile.

"But they do not see you in the windows, for the windows are one way only. They see only their own reflections. Ms. Nannarry does not allow you to be seen." The teddy answered calmly.

"I wanna be seen! I wanna make friends with the other kids like me."

"You are unalike them in many ways, Ms. Ritchi."

"I'm kinda like them too, sorta! Everyone's a lil'different. Just, _ugh_, just-a-cuz I'm alotta different doesn't mean I can't be friends with them! Does it? _No!"_ She huffed, getting worked up. Her brows furrowed and her bottom lip poked out. She was also being very animated with her hands. "I _really_ wanna go to shool, Abby."

The bear patted her knee with a paw, "Remain persistent, Ms. Ritchi. She is bound to be agreeable in the near future."

The girl nodded, only slightly reassured. "I'll ask her again tomorrow. And I'll be extra helpful with the chores and animals and stuff. And be super polite and nice." A yawn split her freckled face, and she blinked suddenly bleary blue eyes.

"You describe an excellent plan. Now I believe it is time to become dormant."

She nodded, rubbing her eyes. Hopping out of bed, she walked over to the wall with the door and stood on tip toes to reach the light switch. She was too tired and her mind was too busy to remember she could have just used a voice command to make the light turn off. As soon as it was dark, she felt fear rise in her chest. "Ab-Abraham..?"

At the sound his name, the bear started to glow. She sprinted across the floor and leaped back onto the bed, taking the teddy to her in a tight embrace. Roxanne kicked her way under her covers and snuggled Abraham near once more. She yawned again and shut her eyes. "…Thanks. Good night, Abby."

Abraham hugged one of her arms, "Sleep efficiently, Ms. Ritchi."

* * *

><p>Eventually Nannarry gave into Roxanne's constant hints, requests, whines, and begs, but only after multiple headaches. When she told her she would let her go to shool, the little girl squealed and jumped around excitedly, and had to stop herself from hugging the older woman by almost squeezing the stuffing out of Abraham. The bear had a brief moment of gratitude he wasn't built with pain receptors.<p>

Her enthusiasm was only slightly lessened when Nannarry tried to be serious with her. Nannarry told Roxanne shool would probably be very difficult for her, and would not be easy like the similarly named _school _from Earth. She would need to struggle to keep up with the concepts taught, and told her not to be surprised if the other children didn't except her right away. Roxanne's happiness would not be subdued, however, and was sure she would be great. Even if it took a while, she would make friends, and she would love learning things and asking questions participating.

She was wrong.

On the first day of shool, Roxanne snuck a hug around Nannarry's leg and rushed onto the shool shuttle, a large hovering transportation device that made rounds to pick up children and take them too shool. More advanced travel such as teleportation booths were reserved for more important things. The driver, who didn't really drive and was only there to supervise because the shool shuttle was almost always on autopilot set on a preprogrammed course, gave the human girl a look she couldn't read. Darting to the nearest empty seat, she glued her eyes to the window and sat Abraham next to her, suddenly too shy and over giddy to even look at the other kids. Out the window she watched Nannarry, who was also giving Roxanne a strange look. The girl thought it might be because of the hug, but was confused when Nannarry looked sad instead of angry. It was concerning, but Roxanne pushed it from her mind and stared at the seat in front of her instead. _I'm not going to let Nanna's mood swings ruin this for me._

The shool-shuttle arrived to the shool within minutes, because it was nearby or because the shuttle was just fast, Roxanne couldn't tell. The blue children rushed to get off the shuttle, none noticing Roxanne in their excitement to get into the building. The human was happy to be the freckled and hairy caboose to the blue and bald train. It wasn't until after she got in line she noticed the other kids had weird metal things strapped to their backs. Where they like backpacks from earth? The bottom halves looked mechanic, and the upper halves were some kind of clear dome with…._Are those fish? Oh no, was I supposed to bring a fish on my back? But why would ever I do that? _She started to panic, then thought of an idea. It was simple, but better than nothing. "Abraham." She whispered. "Abraham, hang onto my back…uh, let me give you a sniggy back ride." The robo-bear hesitated only a moment before looking at the other kids and understanding. He happily obliged.

Once in class, Roxanne snuck to the back of the room and sat at a desk in the corner while the other's rushed to fill in the spots in front of her. A golden eyed man, who Roxanne could only assume was the teacher, stood before the class next to a large electronic white board. Beside him stood a large robotic torso with a dome where a head would normally be. In the dome was a fish, only it was larger than the other fish in the room. It looked like a weird cross between a popeyed goldfish and a partially developed tadpole. The man glanced over the students and paused on Roxanne. "Good morning class. Today is a special day. I don't know if you are aware, but we have a new pupil with us. I want you all to be _nice_ and _welcoming _to her, because you will notice she is rather _different_, but I'm sure you will all learn to like her for wha-_who_ she is." His face failed to match his words. He took a look at a flat screen in his hands and continued. "_Raxain_, please come up front and introduce yourself."

She gulped nervously and stood up as 20 other pairs of eyes turned towards her and widened, noticing her for the first time. Things felt like they were in slow motion as she made her way from the very back to the very front. Some of the kids couldn't hold back whispered comments and strained snickers. _"Look at her hair!" "Her head is so tiny!" "Are those spots on her face?" "How can you tell it's a girl?" "What's on her back?" "She's tan!" "No, she's pink!" "Haha, now she's turning red!" _

Finally she was beside the teacher facing the class. Eyes stinging with nervousness, she began. "H-hello, my name is Roxanne." She couldn't think of anything else to say, and before she had the chance to continue the popeyed-tadpole bent down with its pseudo-body and up close she spied a small antenna between its puffy eyes on its "forehead". It whispered in her ear looking conflicted, almost sad. "Excuse me miss, but where is your minion?"

"Wha-what?" _What's a minion? And since when did fish talk? Nanna didn't tell me about that._

"Your minion- um, your fish- is absent? Is it terribly sick or injured? Or did it die?"

She blinked and took a chance. Pointing to the bear on her back, she answered. "Abraham is my minion."

The fish's brain seemed to flat line and his mouth gapped, revealing tiny needle teeth. The teacher tapped its metallic shoulder. "That's quite enough, Chappers. Let Raxain get back to her seat and pass the computer pads out to the pupils so we may start class." Chappers shook his fishy body and straightened his robotic one, "Hrm- yes, right, of course, Sir."

Roxanne ignored the teacher's mispronunciation a second time and went back to her desk in the empty row of desks in the back of the room. As she sat down and Chappers passed out electronics, the girl in front of her turned around and looked at her with brown-violet eyes. The minion on her back, a small, grey-purple, sea dragon looking eel, mimicked the action. "You're not Scirian," she stated, it wasn't a question.

"Nope, I'm Human." She replied, trying to sound friendly. Maybe this would be her first friend. She smiled at the thought. "My name is Roxanne and I – "

"–Yeah, I've already gathered that." The girl interrupted. "I'm Vivinie. You should think about changing your name to something less boyish. It sounds like Roxon. You should change it to something girly like Raxana, or Rononie. Or Xanady. Or something else that's better than Roxanne."

…Or maybe this wouldn't be her first friend. She frowned. "I like my name. Its mine and I think I'll keep it."

Vivinie shrugged, "Whatever, don't say I didn't try to help. Oh, and your minion is ugly."

She scowled at Vivinie's eel as it stuck its tongue out at her and Abraham. But she held back a retort. Not everyone in the room could be so unkind….or maybe they could.

* * *

><p>Roxanne learned quickly it wasn't likely anyone would be kind to you if you had differently colored skin, hair, a small skull and a fake mammalian minion. That first day of class had begun with advanced calculus. The 5 year old earthling didn't comprehend a word the teacher had said. She didn't get how a number could be added to letter to make a line on a graph, or what kind a roots could possibly come out of a calculator if it wasn't even a plant. She felt very stupid, especially when she'd thought herself smart that morning for knowing addition already. And even worst was when she had raised her hand to tell the teacher, Mr. Cadan, she didn't understand. The entire class had turned to look back at her incredulously.<p>

"Well," Mr. Cadan spoke slowly with forced patience. "Tell me something you _do _understand, Raxain."

Her brows furrowed at the failure at her name, "I understand addition." This was followed by giggles from the other pupils. She blushed but kept her head high.

"Tell me then, what does 12, 546 plus 5,679 equal?"

"Um…those numbers are too big." More giggles.

"224 plus 113?" Mr. Cadan tried again, smiling now.

She answered with silence which was filled with growing chuckles.

"23 plus 10?"

"Oh! I know that! It's, it's….um, it's…"

A boy from upfront groaned "33! 23 plus 10 equals 33!"

Roxanne was outrage, "Hey! Hey that was my question! I just had to think about it!" Now the room was roaring with laughter, another boy chimed in, "Haha! You shouldn't _have _to _think _about it!" That was the first and last question Roxanne asked.

Things only seemed to get worst from that point on. She gained multiple nicknames after a while: Hairy, Freckles, Freak, Pinky, Flat Head, just "It", and more. Vivinie talked to her more than anyone and quickly became her least favorite person. Vivinie came up with the nickname "Poxy Roxy", declaring the spots on Roxanne's face were from a disease that gave you pox you could catch if you got to close. Roxanne tried to fight back with the nickname "Vinie Meany", but it didn't seem to do much damage. So she tried physical damage instead.

Oh yes, if Roxanne couldn't speak with her words she could definitely speak volumes with her fists. She practiced "talking" this way more than once, but then decided it wasn't worth it. If only it didn't get her into trouble. Had Roxanne not been so bent on proving herself as a good pupil and person, she'd have broken many kid's faces. Vivinie's twice by now.

By now her blonde baby hair had become shoulder length caramel waves. Another weird thing about the human child, her hair changed color and texture over time. After a particularly abusive day of shool, Roxanne came home and, in a desperate attempt to fit in, shaved her entire caramel head until she was almost perfectly bald. This, however, only encouraged more insults towards her tiny cranium. She didn't go back to shool until her hair had grown back straighter than before, but she _did _go back. She wouldn't be completely defeated. She was determined to learn something other than insulting phrases and self control from the place of learning.

One day she made the mistake of telling someone she lived at the Life Center. Everyone found her home unbelievably fitting. She was more like animal in her appearance, intelligence, and behavior than a Scirian, so it would make sense she lived somewhere like a Life Center where wild creatures were abundant. She was dubbed the Feral Child by both children and adults hence forth.

Embracing her differences and titles, the Feral Child grew her hair long, wore her spots proud, practiced animal noises, and sat with her head down in the back of the class where she would happily be ignored until recess or when shool let out. This was how things were for Roxy Poxy the Feral Child.


	5. A Lonely Number

**Chapter 5: A Lonely Number**

Roxanne woke up early to the sound of an alarm emitting from Abrahams core. She groaned and rolled over in bed to face the teddy bear sitting next to her head, "Okay, okay, I'm awake Abs…" The _beep-beep-beep_ing ended at that. She stretched and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Abraham stood up on her pillow "Good morning Ms. Ritchi, your clothing for today is folded at your feet." She smiled a warm smile at him tiredly. "…Guh'morning. Thanks Abby, you're so helpful." She picked him up and hugged him once, then sat him back down. "You are welcome. It is only my duty." He replied.

She got out of bed, shrugged out of her sleeping clothes and into her day clothes, which as usual comprised of a tight white long-sleeved shirt with a high collar and tight white pants, both had glowing green streaks. The color green signaled her current occupational situation – a young learning pupil attending shool. Too finish her outfit she slid on some white gloves and boots. Out the window she could see the morning star, which was named _Igneefe_ in this solar system, had not yet rose, and the starry blue sky was paled by the celestial body's steady approach toward the horizon line. Roxanne was now ten years of age and had been waking up early to get ready for shool for three years now. At age seven she had decided to stop riding the shoolshuttle in favor of walking to shool instead. It required her to wake up early so she would arrive on time, since walking took longer than riding, but she found it rewarding. Every morning she was able to enjoy watching Igneefe rise, and the peace of not being surrounded by other bothersome kids.

Once dressed, she let Abraham climb onto her back, popped a quick meal in her mouth, and exited the Life Center she called home to start her daily stroll. The crimson grass in between buildings and streets glittered with dew, and hidden critters chattered and stirred as they woke up, while more nocturnal creatures settled down for the day. Trees, where they could be found, swayed in gentle breezes, their red leaves shinning scarlet in the growing light of the dawn. Roxanne took a deep breath of the crisp air and set stride. She gave a small smile to her surroundings, thinking of Earth and the similarities and differences of her two worlds. She wondered briefly what green grass would look like in person, and if it would have a similar texture to the red grass here, what it would smell like, and if it, too, would feel cool under bare feet.

The device that held all one could wish to know about Earth had told her a lot of what things were like there, like the terrain of different places, and the customs of humans. She liked to call the device her Earth Encyclopedia and she tried to learn from it every night before she went to sleep. Knowing more about the place of her origin cheered her up and let her feel less lonely, if only for a little while.

A noise from behind told Roxanne the shoolshuttle was on her tail. She watched as it wooshed by, and looking ahead she spotted the shool building. Roxanne frowned and slowed her pace. The worst part of her lovely morning walks was the end. She dreaded her destination with a passion, and wished her walk was longer – not that it would matter, it would always feel too short once she arrived.

She waited a fair distance for the others get off the shuttle and enter the building before going in herself, she wanted to avoid getting 'accidentally' tossed and trampled. Like it was _avoidable_. As soon as she made her way into the crowded hallway she was roughly shouldered so that she tripped on her own feet and fell into the person in front her. Whoever knocked into her slipped away before she could punc-_see_ their face, but the person she bumped into was clear when she whipped around to face Roxanne before tipping over backwards.

Vivinie yelped when she felt herself going down, her arms flailed for a moment. The eel minion in Vivinie's backpod twirled in its dome before taking action. In an instant two arms that looked more like grappling-hooks shot out from either side of the mechanical bottom of the backpod and reached for the floor, catching Vivinie's fall with rubbery finger-tips. The blue girl stopped mid-fall at an angle, wide-eyed and blinking.

Roxanne gasped, "I'm sorry! I actually didn't mean to do that this time. Here, let me help you up."

"No thank you!" Vivinie scoffed, awkwardly straightening herself with her minion trying to assist. "Of course you meant to do it."

"I didn't knock you over intentionally, someone ran into me – _that _was probably on purpose."

Vivinie chuckled, "Don't try to act innocent. Everyone knows you can't help but be barbaric, it's like…some kind of primal instinct for you."

Rolling her eyes, Roxanne replied with thick sarcasm, flaring her fingers out in effect, "Yep, that's me, Roxanne the barbarian! I wish your minion hadn't have caught you, maybe your head would have cracked open like a giant blue egg."

"Ahah, oh, that's humorous Roxy. Tasslers here is the most impressive minion in the shool; he'd never make such a mistake."

"Abraham is more impressive than that purple worm of yours; your minion can't even talk. Abraham has been talking and using his hands and feet since before I can remember." Tasslers puffed up aggressively at this and hissed something that sounded like an attempt at works but sounded more like a baby talking while gargling rocks. Vivinie sent Tasslers a meaningful glare.

Roxanne's comeback would have been valid if Abraham was a scientifically engineered fish. The development of a minion's mind-to-robot coordination was gradual. It began with small computer and antenna being implanted somewhere on the fish's body where it could connect with the organism's brain, usually on the back extending into the spine, or occasionally directly atop the animals skull or forehead. Only fish species that already showed signs of being smart were chosen for minionship (an earth octopus would be a prime candidate). The computer and antenna not only enhanced the fish's intelligence, but allowed the fish to communicate and control technologies designated to the frequency of the fish's antenna. As the fish's brain developed and matured, its efficiency in using its antenna this way improved. They would start with simple tasks like starting and powering down a computer to twitching robotic fingers to using robotic arms and hands. This was the reason young minions were carried on their master's backs in backpods, they were not yet capable of using legs and were only beginning to adjust to upper body movements. A fully matured minion would be able to control a full body confidently, as well as other machines if necessary. If Abraham was a fish minion who had been talking and controlling a full body since it was first engineered, the feat would have been miraculous. But this wasn't the case. Tasslers being this competent with his backpod arms at his age was impressive enough.

Vivinie narrowed her violet-brown eyes and smirked, with a huff she responded smoothly, "Well, I can't imagine you can remember much with a puny brain like yours. And that fuzzy _whatever-it-is_ isn't impressive. He isn't even real."

This gave Roxanne pause, "What do you mean?"

"Well, memories are stored in the brain, and –"

"No, not that. Of course Abraham is real."

"Is he though?" Vivinie knocked on the metallic part of Tasslers' backpod with one hand, and pointed to where her heart would be in her chest with the thumb of the other. "Come now, Pox, even you can figure that out. I'll let you digest that, I'm going to class before I'm considered tardy." As she walked away Roxanne could hear Vivinie scolding Tasslers harshly, "…how dare you...trying to talk when you know you can't…don't ever embarrass me like that again…"

Roxanne let her body take her where it was supposed to go while her mind churned fretfully. _What did Vivinie mean, Abraham not being real? Of course he is, he's my best friend. _She chanced a glance toward her faithful teddy and saw his eyes swarm with binary. He too was in deep consideration over what he had just been confused of. She didn't want to think about it. She wouldn't. Not yet anyway, not during shool. When she went home she would confront it.

It set her on edge for the rest of the day. The others must have sensed it, too, because kids who normally gave her grief kept their distance for once, not wanting to face the wrath of an extra-touchy human. When she finally made it back to the Life Center, after a walk home from shool that, for the first time ever, felt too long, she almost made it to her room without breaking. That was, until Nannarry said something to her that pushed her over the edge she had been set upon.

Seeing her walk in, Nannarry smiled and said, "Welcome back, Human. When you have time, the Rolphino habitat needs cleaning; the Rolphinos are starting to get restless about it – freshen it up for me, would you?"

The little girl clenched her fists, "Why do you call me that?"

"What?"

"Human. Why do you always call me Human? Why don't you ever me by my real name? Do you even know it?"

Nannary's silver gaze was suddenly guarded. "Of course I know your name. I just prefer to call you Human."

"But why? Why do you prefer 'Human' to 'Roxanne'?"

"That's not important."

"It is to me! I hate it when you call me Human! Am I so unbearably different you have to call by my species name?"

"No, that's not the reason, but –"

"And why am I not allowed to call you Mother? Or Mom even? What's the harm in it, honestly?"

"That is enough, Human!"

"Don't call me that, Nannarry! If I can't call you what I want, then the same goes for you!"

"I said _enough_! Don't talk to your elders that way! Now do as I say and clean the Rolphino habitat, or go to your room and stay there!"

"Just make me understand, I'm so confused! What aren't you telling me?"

"NOW, Ritchi!"

Roxanne doesn't reply after that. Nannarry didn't call her Roxanne, but she called her Ritchi, which was better than Human. With a quivering lip and watery eyes threatening to spill over, she went to her room in silence, slamming the door accidentally in her flood of emotions. The elder woman watched her leave, her silver just as glazed, and coughed a raspy cough into a boney knuckled fist.

In her room, she curled up on her bed against the wall, fighting tears. She clutched Abraham to her with one hand while the other hand rubbed Abraham's nose in that soothing way she used to do when she was younger and was upset. The bear's black nose now had a hole in its center from over-rubbing; white fur peaked through the gap and was framed by the remaining black thread. The pink ribbon bow-tie that used to be around his neck was long gone, lost and never found. Slowly she stopped rubbing his nose when she remembered what she had originally been upset about. She held Abraham away from her so she could look at him. Sniffling, she spoke. "Abraham, what do your initials stand for?"

There was a moment of silence, as though the teddy was hesitating. After a while he responded in his never-changing child tone, "Ms. Ritchi, you are aware of what my initials stand for. 'A.I' is the abbreviation of my full given name, Abraham Inkling."

Her lip starts quivering again and she set him down to stand on the bed. "No, that's not what I meant. What do they _really _stand for?"

"…I do not comprehend the query."

"Abraham, 'A.I' stands for 'Artificial Intelligence'. That's what you are, aren't you? You were just programmed to like me. That doesn't count. That's not real. That's fake. You're just fake. You're my stupid fake friend." She said harshly through broken sobs, tears finally running freely down her face. It was actually something she knew for a while now but refused to acknowledge. Now that it had been pointed out to her, however, she could no longer ignore it.

Abraham's eyes were practically solid green with ones and zeros as his electronic conscious streamed with doubt. The little fuzzy white teddybot had never been so stumped. He was indeed electronic. He held no organic matter with in him. Logically his personality must have been, in some form, downloaded into him. He loved Roxanne. At least he thought he loved Roxanne. He was ever-devoted to the wellbeing of the earthling. His directive told him to care for her. This was not of his choosing though, was it? In his recorded memory he recalled being activated with that sole desire, it was the first thought to run though his mind. Did that make it fake? Was he fake? Was the things he felt only of his programming? Why did that bother him?

He took a small step toward her. "I would like to believe my emotions toward you are authentic and my desire to protect you is genuine, Ms. Ritchi. I would also like to believe my motive to want to believe such things is not simply because I have been programmed to want such things."

"But how can you tell they aren't just because of your programming?"

"…I cannot."

She shoved him away, "Just don't talk to me for a while." She buried her moist face in her arms which rested on her knees. She hated to think her only friend in the world wasn't real. She couldn't look at him right now.

He resigned to the opposite edge of the bed and sat down with his legs flat in front of him, arms limp at his sides, head slumped downward, back to the wall. "As you wish."


	6. Mystifying Matriculant

**Chapter 6: Mystifying Matriculant**

Roxanne leaned against the chrome exterior of the shool building, hugging herself and resting her head back casually. Her breath was visible in the crisp morning air, coming out in slow puffs as she inhaled and exhaled in a steady rhythm. Half asleep, her eyes drooped and she started to slide down the wall. Abraham, sitting on her shoulder, tapped her a few times before she fell into a real slumber; she woke with a jolt and corrected herself, hugging her sides tighter. "Thanks," she let slip the word, groggy. She didn't usually talk to Abraham with gratitude anymore, not since she came to terms with him being a robot with fake feelings. She decided to end the friendliness after that, to not grow any more attached with the false friend. She was too tired right now to remember that, however, and didn't even realize she had thanked him for rousing her. Abraham knew better than to reply, knew better than to say "You're welcome," lest she realize the error of her ways and send him a glare that caused his circuits to shiver. He shouldn't have to be thanked anyway, it was his job. He was a minion, and should be treated as such.

The human teenager walked away from the wall to stand on her own two feet, hopefully to prevent anymore dozing. She was tired, and for good reason. Now instead of waking up and walking to shool at a time when she and the shoolshuttle would arrive at the same time, she woke even earlier. Now she arrived a good 30 minutes before anyone else showed up, which allowed her to be the first through the doors when they opened, so she could effectively avoid everyone on her way to her first class. It gave her time to truly be by herself which she greatly appreciated, but it also left her snoozing where she stood more often than not. _Still, _she thought as she yawned, _better than ducking and dodging in the halls._

The star-rise shined directly in her face, causing her to turn away or go blind. _Igneefe's _light set the fog around her glowing and dispersing in the sudden warmth, and she wondered if Earth's _Sun_ had ever been so bright before it imploded.

"Abraham, what's the time?"

"7:59, Ms. Ritchi."

_The doors should be unlocking any second now…_She heard the signature "click!" of the door's unlocking, set to automatically do so on a timer, as soon as she finished the thought. Roxanne slipped out of the warm golden rays and into the cold illumination of the building, making a b-line to her wall-pocket.

The walls were lined with cushiony puckers, each with a small keypad where a password would be punched in. Once the password was entered, the pucker would open wide like a mouth to a pocket hidden in the wall where a pupil's supplies would be kept. Once Roxanne reached hers, though, it was her own mouth that opened wide. "What! Oh, if I find out who did his, they're going to have a crater for a face!" She punched the wall. Someone had covered both the pucker of her wall pocket, and her keypad, with what appeared to be slime or some kind of sparkly adhesive. She touched it experimentally and shuddered, "Ugh, gross, what is this stuff? It's going to take forever to open my pocket now!" _And today had started off so _good _too! Why can't things be easy for once? _

She dashed to the restroom for a wash cloth. Simple things like wash cloths than towels were the same on Caelumar as on Earth, Roxanne supposed some inventions were just universal that way. Once back, she scrubbed vigorously at the ooze, knowing better than to ask Abraham to do it for her, unless she wanted a teddy bear covered in sticky stuff.

Looking back at the entrance she groaned seeing the shoolshuttle had arrived and that the halls would soon swarm with blue people. She worked harder at removing the gunk, but the stuff was impossibly stubborn. Groups were starting to file in, dread filled her chest. Her situation was just _asking _for someone to make it worst. _Come on come on come on, come off before someone gets any idea- _"Ah!" Suddenly someone ran past her, shoving her into the wall and successfully gluing her there by the front of her shirt. The person kept running, cackling. _"Haffreck it!" _She growled the curse, which meant 'to wish the absolute worst upon something or someone', trying to detach herself from the wall so she could chase after the wise guy. _Haffreck_ was the closest one could get to saying _damn _on this planet, since concepts such as heaven and hell were nonexistent.

She punched her password into the partially uncovered keypad, and the pucker widened, tearing the glue from her clothes just enough so she could remove herself; the rest spread over the mouth of the pocket like a thin shimmering membrane. Roxanne pushed her hand through and tried to grab her belongings as quickly as possible, but not quickly enough. The pucker was pulled back shut by the straining slime and clamped down on her arm. She gasped and staggered where she stood, _"Ow! Ow ow ow, oh ouch, aaaaggh!" _She hissed breathlessly, punching her password in back in with a rush of fingers. Eventually she freed her arm from the trap. That was sure to leave a nice bruise ring below her shoulder.

Catching her breath, Roxanne clutched the electronics she retrieved to her side, where there was the least amount of glue clinging to her, then turned on her heal ready to sprint down the hall to the class she was already unnecessarily late too. Her blood was boiling, already pushed to the edge in less than 15 minutes. She was positive the next thing that happened to her would make her snap. She didn't make it far before someone rounded a corner and she slammed into them. The two bodies collided with a loud _smack! _It caused Roxanne to fall backwards landing hard on her butt, and to drop her things, which Abraham dutifully caught before they clattered to the floor.

The person she rammed was more fortunate, and was caught under the pits by their minion – a round specimen of a fish with glowing parts and an impressive under bite floating in the dome of a full robot body. It looked like it had something to say for a moment, until it looked at the cause of the crash and simply gapped at her in silence. Her eyes squeezed shut and she grit her teeth, something akin to a snarl ripped from her throat. She was up in a flash, her hands fists. "That is _it! _I am up to _here _with people tormenting me today!" Her eyes glittered and she looked like she was about to tackle both the stranger and their minion, that was, until, he opened his eyes and looked up at her with utter shock and confusion. Her mind derailed from whatever train of thought it was on, and suddenly all Roxanne could think about was the color green.

She blinked, staring into emerald orbs. _Oh my goodness, his eyes, they're so green. I've never seen eyes so green before. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen green eyes before. I …I'm staring at him like an idiot aren't I? _The red in her face from her anger had faded, but now she was blushing. She looked down, her long brown hair forming a curtain to hide her face. She was suddenly quiet. "Sorry, I'm sorry…" She muttered almost to herself, walking quickly around them and vanishing. The green eyed boy just watched her go.

"Who…was that?" He wondered out loud to his minion.

"I- I don't know, Sir." The fish stammered, "_What _was that? A-and the thing on its back?"

"I don't know, Minion." He replied with a smile, absent mindedly brushing glittery goo from his clothes "But I want to get to know her."

* * *

><p><em>Who was that?<em> Roxanne had been thinking about her run in with the green eyed boy for the remainder of the day. It was now about time to head home, but she couldn't help wondering if she'd run into him again. _Green eyes! I didn't even know green eyes existed! _She wouldn't admit to it, but she had been mystified. He must have been a new pupil, though she didn't remember hearing about any newbies coming. Not so surprising, no one ever told her anything, what did she expect?

She was on her way back to her wall pocket now; she hoped the goop had dried by now so she could scratch it the rest of the way off. She did a double take when she saw the green eyed boy using a pocket two pockets away from her own. She stared at her feet and continued to walk, veiling her face with her hair, hoping to be approached and hoping to be ignored by him at the same time.

Roxanne winced and her heart fluttered when heard him walking toward her as she returned her things to the miniature cavern in the wall, the glue flaking. "Sorry about earlier, I wasn't exactly sure where I was going really. I'm new here. Are you –" She heard him talking at her before being cut off by an all-too familiar voice.

"Aahh~ you must be the new matriculant. My name is Vivinie, and you are?"

He turned toward her in surprise at the interruption, but remained polite. "Oh. Um. Hello, I'm Nigmadem."

_Nigmadem! What a unique name!_

"Nigmadem? That's quite a unique name. Not very traditional, hmm?"

"It's an old name. A very old name. Nigma for short, if you prefer."

"Nigma it is then. I see you've met Roxy. You don't have to worry yourself with her, Nigma, she's not worth your time."

Nigmadem quirked a brow and crossed his arms, glancing over at the fascinating girl for a moment, still arranging things in her wall pocket. He seemed uncomfortable talking about her like she wasn't there, she noticed.

"Is that so? And why isn't she worth my time?"

Vivinie smirked and her violet brown eyes shown with humor, "Well, I mean, just look at her! And her intelligence is everything _but _extraordinary. She'll cause you nothing but grief, it's in her nature."

"Well – Vivinie was it? – I thank you for your very much unwanted opinion; however, I usually only trust what I learn through my own observations, so, if you don't mind, I think I'll waste my time in whatever way I wish." Nigma turned away from a stunned-silent Vivinie and back toward the girl called "Roxy", only to find she had slipped away. He frowned. Then forced a smile at Vivinie, waved good bye, and walked towards the exit where his minion was already waiting outside for him. He found his minion talking to another minion, a thick purple eel that looked too big for his dome. He was still too far away to hear the conversation.

"Minion? Your name is Minion? You're a minion named Minion." The eel said in a disbelieving tone.

"That's correct!" Minion replied with a smile.

"That's only slightly ridiculous."

Minion frowned and tapped together metallic fingers, but kept a smile in his voice. "Okay, well, um, what's your name?"

The eel puffed up and grinned, "My master named me Tasslers."

Minion gasped in horror. "Tasslers! Your name is Tasslers? I'm so sorry!"

"I'm not sorry! It's a perfect name for a minion."

"How can you take pride in a name like that? You do know what that name means, don't you?" Minion asked, dumbfounded.

Tasslers growled, "Of course I know what it means! That's why it's perfect! It's better than _Minion_, who on Caelumar name's their minion _Minion_?"

"A very good Master, that's who!" He growled back, defensive. It was then he caught Nigma's eye. "And speaking of Masters, here's mine now. Good bye Tasslers and have a fine rest of the day!" He spat out the pleasantry, and then walked over to his master.

Nigmadem's expression was curious, "What was all of the spatting about?"

Minion rolled his eyes "I'll tell you some other time; today has been full of surprises."

"Phew, you can say that again!" He agreed.

"Sooo….did you get to get to know her, Sir?" Minion prompted with a hopeful toothy smile. It disappeared when he heard his master sigh.

"No, Minion, I didn't get to get to know her, I was interrupted by someone." He pouted, thinking about the violet eyed girl. _What was her name again?_ "But tomorrow!" He continued, pointing a finger to the sky, "tomorrow will be different!"

"That's the way to think, Sir!" Minion encouraged, "What do have in mind?"

"Well, Minion," Nigma replied in all seriousness. "We're going to arrive at shool even earlier, and to start off, I'm going to walk up to her, and say 'Hello'."

"Excellent plan so far, Sir."


	7. Tomorrow

Hello readers. It's been a while since I've updated her. I'm much farther in this story over on the Megamind Live Journal community. I'm going to try to catch up here before I upload much more over there, and then I'll update here and there at the same time. But until then, enjoy this older chapter :)

**Chapter 7: Tomorrow**

She walked briskly down the path, shivering. Yesterday was still on her mind. Nigmadem and his eyes had really stayed with her; she couldn't stop thinking about him. It left her feeling frustrated and embarrassed, why would she be so interested in someone she didn't even know? It was those eyes…Roxanne had seen silver, grey, brown, and yellow of all shades, and even eyes leaning towards orange and violet, but never had she ever seen eyes the color green. She wanted to see them again, just to reassure herself she hadn't imagined them.

What bothered even more though was the fact that _he _seemed interested in _her_. Why was that? No one had ever truly shown interest in her, not since she had first been discovered drifting with asteroids. Nannarry, and even Reggen and Derex on their rare visits, always comment that it was good she didn't get any more attention than she did, but would never explain why. It scared her. He probably had some ulterior motive and was planning something malicious.

…Or maybe not. Years of enemy building and no friendships left her paranoid. She sighed. _I'm probably just being irrational. _Still, she couldn't shake off the feeling.

Abraham stood sentry on her shoulders, scanning the surroundings for signs of trouble. Not that it was usually necessary on their walk to school which was normally uneventful, but after yesterdays prank he was on red alert. In the midst of her troubled thoughts, the teddy bear spotted someone and their minion walking on the other side of the street in the same direction. He recognized the pair as the new pupils from yesterday. Stiffening, he hugged Roxanne's head and watched them from over her hair, "Warning, pedestrians approaching from the left, Ms. Ritchi."

Roxanne turned to look just as the two noticed her. Nigma quickened his pace and started flailing an arm in a spastic wave at the sight of her. "Oh! Oh, oh! Hey, you! D-don't go anywhere, I'll be right over!" She blinked dubiously at the street filled with hovering vehicles and shuttles whizzing by at high speeds, racing to get to important places. She didn't stop walking, but slowed her steps.

Nigma and Minion dashed to the croscalator, a structure that looked like the hybrid between an escalator and bridge, she had just walked by, clanking up and down to the other side. Roxanne found herself holding her breath as they came up to her from behind and Abraham hugged her head tighter, little bear ears flattening ever so slightly. He reached her side then slowed to meet her pace, Minion falling in behind them. Nigma's chest was puffed, and it deflated dramatically after speaking, "Hello!" He looked back sharply and shared a moment with Minion, who nodded and enthusiastically gave two thumbs up.

Roxanne looked at him from the corner of her eye and then straight ahead. "Hey,"

"Hi," He said again on impulse, "My name is –"

"Nigmadem, yes, I know." She completed his sentence, sounding annoyed on accident. _Stupid nerves, _she scolded herself silently, _just relax already! _She was stiff as a board just because someone was talking to her like this, it was new. Maybe she was bracing herself for an insult or readying herself for a witty comeback. That wasn't necessary right now, _Relax! _

"How did you…? Oh, that's right; you were there for most of that conversation." He chuckled, "Is that girl always so charmingly straightforward? What was her name again? It's left me," His voice was sarcastic, Roxanne found herself struggling not to smirk, "But more importantly, what's your name?"

Roxanne rubbed her shoulder where it was bruised from yesterday, hoping to rub off the awkwardness she was feeling. "Her name is Vivinie, and no, she's usually worst." She narrowed her eyes at him without turning toward him, "And why do you want to know?"

Nigma failed for words a moment, "Aaah, um, well, why wouldn't I want to know your name?"

"And why are you talking to me anyway? Why are you being so friendly?" She didn't mean to start an interrogation, but she couldn't stop herself, she had word vomit, "What's with the interest?"

Nigmadem was suddenly feeling under pressure, and the fuzzy thing on the girls shoulder wouldn't stop staring at him. Abraham's beady black eyes were protective daggers. "…Am I not supposed to talk to you? Or be kind? Isn't that how things go when making new friends? Or do you have different customs?" Roxanne snorted humorlessly, _different customs? What, alien customs from my alien planet? Haven't heard that one before… Wait, did he say friend? _He continued with a hesitant laugh, "…As for my interest…" He turned to look back at his minion, green eyes asking for help.

Minion stared stupidly for a moment before getting the hint, "Oh! Well, you see Miss…Miss, Sir here has a fascination with all things unique; he even has a personal collection of strange things. That's why he changed his name to Nigmadem - originality," he explained with a smile, even though he was talking to the back of Roxanne's head. "In a world full of big headed blue people, Sir has found interest in you because you're different."

"Yes! That's exactly what I wanted to say. Thank you, Minion." Abraham twitched visibly, and both Nigmadem and Minion noticed. That was a …different reaction to the phrase 'thank you'. They both shrugged it off and looked to the girl for her response.

She thought this over for a moment, and the quartet walked in an odd silence. It seemed innocent enough, and he sounded honest, but she couldn't hold back a doubtful, slightly biting reply. "I see. So you want me to be a part of your collection for this weird fetish for weird things. That's nice."

"Yes! I mean, wait, what? No!" He was in a small panic, "No, no that's not it at all! It's just, I'm new to this district and thought, you know, you'd make a cool first friend, that's all."

Roxanne smiled sadly and finally turned her head to look at him directly, taking in his full face and not just his eyes for the first time. His face was very angular, practically triangular, especially his chin, which was accented with a thin strip of black hair. _Something else unique, _she thought, _I haven't seen that style of facial hair before. _His black eyebrows were a reasonable thickness, and his nose was pointed like his chin. The last thing she noticed were his temples, perfectly concave and shallow. Yes, they were very nice temples.

He was silent as her blue eyes absorbed him in; a chill ran up his spine. Eventually she spoke, "Sorry, but I find that very hard to believe. I don't make friends well, apparently." She watched his face fall and she turned away again, looking like she was about to walk away. On a second thought, she turned back to him one last time, "Roxanne is my name." Then she quickened her stride and finished her walk to shool alone, while Nigma and Minion slowed to a halt.

* * *

><p>"What do you know about her?"<p>

"Um…well, I don't talk to her much, I mean, I've talked to her before, but, I-I don't know, sorry…She started shool the same time as all of us. I think she's always been the way she is, pretty distant. I don't get to talk to her; more so, I'm not really supposed to…can't really say she's a mean person. Supposedly she's from a different solar system."

"Do you know why she is the way she is? Personality-wise?"

"…She's avoided a lot. A-and blamed for things, not sure if things are really ever her fault though. I see her being antagonized a lot, and she gets into fights, but I never see who started the confrontation…one can only guess. She seems a bit clumsy in classes, messes things up a lot, but no one ever corrects her so…people seem to regard her more as a source of entertainment than as a true knowledge-seeker. She doesn't try much anymore…I-I'm sorry, that was more of an explanation of her personality than reasons for it, I'm sorry…"

"Hmm? That's all fine information, why apologize for it? What else can you think of?"

"O-oh, okay then. I'm sorry…well…"

Nigmadem stopped himself from rolling his eyes. This morning's walk with Roxanne had gone in an entirely different direction than he had anticipated, but it hadn't got bad. It left him even more curious about her, wanting to know about her character and why she was such a secretive recluse. He knew people weren't just born that way; there had to have been reasons and histories behind her behavior. So he had been asking around all day. Few people were of any help. Mostly when he brought it up, people scoffed and ignored his questions, or said things like "You want to know about Flat-head?" or "Do you mean Freckles?" Did _anyone_ know her real name?

Finally he had found someone worth talking too, a girl named Felleta. She had pale brown, almost grey eyes with small flecks of yellow that reminded him of a stone hiding gold at its core. Felleta was quiet and shy and stuttered ever now and then, but at least she gave valid and unbiased answers, even if she said sorry a lot. It was a bit ridiculous when she apologized for apologizing though. Plus, she had the voice of a flower, if flowers had voices. It left him straining to hear what she was saying. He did appreciate her honesty, however.

He learned that Roxanne was a source of ridicule, had awful nicknames, was the framed for everything, and was good with her fists. She didn't do well in most of her classes, aside from language and literature, but because they were considered inferior classes, everyone believed her to be a simple-minded fool. She was alienated because of her differences and had no friends except for the furry robot that nearly always traveled on her back. No _wonder _she was a recluse! Nigmadem longed even more for her companionship.

After thanking Felleta in earnest and making her blush, he gathered Minion, and started down the hallway. Turning the corner, he was just in time to see Roxanne finish taking out a few things from her wall pocket when someone yanked her hair from behind, causing her to drop everything in her hands as her neck was jerked painfully. He heard her gasp out of surprise, and watched the furry robot on her back leap at the attacker and latch onto their arm. The person yelped and tried to pry the thing off in a rush as though it was causing pain, until whipping his arm and making the robot fly.

Someone caught it and laughed, yelling to a third party, "Hey, catch the scruffbot!" proceeding to toss it through the air.

"Abraham! Give him back!" Roxanne cried, Nigma did not miss the concern in her voice, even under her threats, "Give him back before I break your skinny little blue necks!"

He watched Abraham soar through the air, and the rage fill Roxanne's face in the form of blood in her cheeks, wanting to help but not sure how to go about it, until Abraham was suddenly thrown his way. He caught the robot with ease, looking into its glass eyes he saw small green symbols he didn't recognize, they looked like circles and lines to him. _Fascinating. _"Hey newby, throw it over here!" Someone called out. He gave everyone an unimpressed gaze. "Yeah, I think not." He replied coolly, handing Abraham over to Minion who set him on a metallic shoulder with a smile. "Hello!" Minion said warmly. Abraham didn't answer, but looked back at Nigmadem in wonder.

There was a collective gasp from everyone in the hallway; clearly they all expected him to join in, including Roxanne and Abraham. He walked over to her while the others dispersed, fun having been killed, and picked up what she had dropped. He was surprised to see it was a device he didn't recognize. Smiling, he handed it back, "I believe you dropped this?" She accepted it with a blank expression, not even acknowledging when Abraham jumped agilely back onto her shoulder. "Yes…I, um, I did."

"Can Minion and I walk home with you?"

"Sure."

* * *

><p>They walked in silence, Nigma waited patiently for Roxanne to speak first. He noticed her clutching the device she had dropped close to her chest with one arm, while petting one of Abraham's feet. He concluded they both must be very valuable to her. The fuzzy creature was still starting at him intently, just like that morning, but it felt different than before, which was odd, since the robot didn't appear to be capable of changing its facial expression. It always bore a sowed on smile.<p>

"Thanks," she finally spoke, "for what you did back there. I …appreciate it." The words felt foreign on her tongue.

Nigmadem shrugged, "It was nothing. It's awful how they treat you." He looked at her in confusion when she chuckled. "What?"

She looked away, "It's just, that sounds really odd coming from someone like you, a scirian. I'm not used to being sympathized with like this."

"I'm sure you're not," He said seriously, with a small frown, "I learned a lot about how others treat you today. You deserve a break from all that."

"Where did you learn about that?" Roxanne arched a thin eye brow at him.

"After this morning's talk I wanted to know more about you, so I asked around a bit around shool," He noticed her blush slightly and couldn't stop a small smile creep onto his lips, "One girl was particularly informative, Felleta."

"Ah yes, Felleta the fragile." Roxanne knew Felleta, she was one of very few scirians she didn't hate or greatly dislike. In fact, she had almost become her friend. Of course, Vivinie would have none of that, and pulled Felleta into her own circle of snobby friends. Vivinie was always pushing Felleta and telling her what to do or not do, and Felleta being the flower she was, would bend. She was too easily manipulated, and Roxanne hated it. But what could she do?

"What are you called?" Nigmadem interrupted her thoughts with the question.

"I'm sorry, what?" She didn't understand the question; didn't she already tell him her name?

Nigma rephrased, "What's your species' name? We already know I'm scririan, you are…?"

"Oh." Roxanne bit her lip. Did she really want him to know that? She was so tired of people calling her by her species name she cringed at it like it was an insult. It nearly was, the way people used it as though being _human _was something horrible and monstrous, or something to be ashamed off. She opened her mouth to reply but closed it again, hesitating.

He noticed the hesitation and wondered if he shouldn't have asked. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head and answered softly, "No, it's…it's just – it's nothing. I'm a Human."

"Roxanne the Human–"

"–No, not 'Roxanne the Human'. Roxanne Ritchi, just Roxanne Ritchi." Her voice was hard; her hand formed a fist around Abraham's leg.

"Yes, of course, Roxanne Ritchi, just Roxanne Ritchi," He was quick to corrected himself. "I like that name."

She smiled weakly, "Thank you."

Soon they were back at the croscalator where Nigmadem and Roxanne would have to go separate ways. He seemed reluctant to depart. The two divided paths of the croscalator moved in opposite directions to either side of the street with a faint hum while everyone stood where they were.

"So…see you tomorrow?" He asked hopefully.

Roxanne's weak smile filled out, "Yes, most likely."

He seemed satisfied with that, "Goodbye until tomorrow then, just Roxanne Ritchi!" She giggled, and then his minion, who apparently was named Minion, said his own goodbyes, "Goodbye Miss Ritchi!" She waved, "Goodbye Nigmadem, goodbye just Minion."

The pair grinned widely at each other and sprinted over the croscalator, talking animatedly about her and not being very silent about it. The smile on her lips lingered even when they were out of sight, and she finally started walking again.

Abraham broke the silence that had fallen, "Ms. Ritchi?"

"Yes, Abraham?"

"I think I like them, Ms. Ritchi."

"Yeah, me too."


	8. Candles, Oddities, and Neighbors

****Woooh, chapter 8! Thank you so much for all of your reviews, I really appreciate them and they are great encouragement to keep writing, knowing people are reading, enjoying, and looking forward too more. I want to apologize if I never replied to your review though, I've been having some internet issues and I can't remember who I've replied too and haven't, I want to reply to you all. I haven't gotten the hang of this site all the way after all XD Any way, I do hope you enjoy this chapter. I might upload chapter 9 here while I can later today, so keep a look out. I'm still trying to catch up to where I am on the Megamind Livejournal Community.

**Chapter 8: Candles, Oddities, and Neighbors**

Dark. It was dark. Why was it so dark? It shouldn't be this dark, even if _Igneefe_ hadn't risen yet it shouldn't be this dark at this hour. Bleary eyed, Roxanne got out of her bed, stretched, and tip-toed to the ovular window in her bed room. Looking out, she groaned, _that _was why it was so dark. Not that she could see what it was, but she could see what it wasn't. It wasn't two moons, it wasn't one moon, and it wasn't stars. Conclusion - Storm clouds. Thick and angry storm clouds that were sure to look purplish and greenish grey once _Igneefe _claimed its noon seat in the sky. But for now, it was black and dark and Roxanne didn't like it.

Without needing to be asked, Abraham began to glow from his center to softly illuminate the small room. He was used to being her beacon in the darkness, and was happy to relieve her of her fear. But he also couldn't help but feel something else, deep within his core. What was that, guilt? He believed it might be guilt he was feeling, guilt for making her afraid of the dark in the first place, and he was glad she had been too young to remember. He reasoned with himself it had been his only choice at the time, to make her cry out, otherwise who knew how long it would have been before they had been detected floating in space by the blue planet? It was her screams which alerted the blue men Reggen and Derex to their damaged craft. Still, he couldn't stop himself from feeling the guilt, it was because of him darkness and shadows scared her. _Abraham Inkling the Teddy Bear is supposed to protect and assist the human Roxanne Ritchi, not provide her with mental scars and phobias. _He ended the thought. _There is no logic in dwelling on insignificant events previously occurred, I must focus on the task at hand currently: glowing. I can at least do this for Ms. Ritchi._

Roxanne turned around and looked at her glowing teddy bear and frowned. She was grateful of the light, but she hated how when he lit up, his robot skeleton could be seen though his plush exterior. She tried not to focus on it. "Come on," she said, after getting dressed in her uniform.

Abraham walked in front of her leading the way through the building. No lights were on and there was no point in turning on any since they were both about to leave. Almost to the door, something caught her eye, and Roxanne turned to squint into the room behind her. She could just make out the dim shape of Nannarry. She tried to force her eyes to make sense of the obscure figure in the dark; it looked like woman was sitting at a table with her hands holding her face. "…Nannarry?"

"Huh, what?" Nannarry lifted her head and turned toward Roxanne's voice.

"Nannarry, what you doing up so early? And without any lights?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a headache, you don't need to worry, Ritchi." Even with the low light from Abraham, Roxanne could see Nannarry's eyes sparkle as if they were waterier that usual.

"Are you sure?" Roxanne couldn't help but feel concerned for her mother figure.

She could see the blur of Nannarry's hand waving her off dismissively, "Yes, yes, I'm fine, it should go away soon. Now off to shool with you, if it rains you'll want to be there before it starts."

Hesitating at the door she saw Nannarry rest her head back into her palms and sigh. She had an urge to go over and do…something. But it seemed to her Nannarry was happier when Roxanne stayed distant, and so she did. The door opened on its own at her approach, sliding into the wall, and closed behind her with the soft sound of smooth metals moving over one another.

The air was cold and wet at the same time, if it was any wetter she felt she could swim though it. Looking up she could just barely make out the swirling motions of the thunderhead above. Glancing around she saw where there was no lights coming from buildings or vehicles, there was blackness. She knew it was silly, but she braced herself, ready for some form of beast to jump out roaring and snatch her. Before her imagination could run wild she trained her eyes on Abraham again and nodded for him to lead the way.

She refused to look anywhere else but at the fuzzy radiating bear walking in front of her. She watched his soft feet hit meet with the walkway with tiny _puff-puff-puffs_, and his arms sway back and forth like a little person. So intent was she on watching him she didn't even notice she had walked past the croscalator, didn't hear Nigmadem and Minion's approach, and nearly jumped out her skin when one of them tapped her shoulder.

Roxanne yelped and spun around, instantly in attack position. Nigma and Minion stepped back with their arms up in defense, faces wearing understandable expressions of surprise and fear. She relaxed with a "Phew!" and turned on Abraham in the next second, "Abraham, why didn't you tell me they were behind us like you usually do?"

The teddy tapped two glowing paws together nervously, "I do believe I did, Ms. Ritchi. Perhaps it simply did not register for you. You have been rather distracted this morning. You are not to blame. I should have repeated the statement and requested your acknowledgement."

Roxanne merely stared at him, her face hot with embarrassment while she stood there wishing Nigma wasn't there watching. Luckly, it was at that moment Minion blinked out of whatever zone he had wandered off too and quickly dissolved the tension. "Hey look, Sir, Abraham can glow too!" The fish proceeded to walk around Roxanne to stand next to the much shorter one and a half foot furry minion. The quartet began walking.

She had to admit it was much nicer to walk in the dark in a group, she felt a lot better now. Though, her cheeks were still flushed from being so frightened. Opening her mouth to say something, Nigma beats her to it. "I'm sorry for scaring you," He said with a laugh in his voice, trying to look apologetic and failing.

Smirking, she huffed, "I wasn't scared, just…caught off guard."

He laughed for real this time, "Hah! Hmm, okay, if you say so."

She just laughed in return and couldn't help but smile. She could tell he was teasing her and so she didn't get defensive. Things were always this comfortable with Nigma and Minion around, and she loved it. She loved not having to be on edge all the time. She loved being able to laugh and mean it. She loved having a friend. And she loved how this friend had walked to and from shool with her every day since the first time, for about 14 star rises. She had trouble missing her morning walks alone now that she had someone she enjoyed walking with. This morning was now considerably brighter now that he had shown up, and not only because it seemed his green eyes were giving off their own light.

Once, Roxanne had asked him why he didn't ride the shoolshuttle with the other pupils. He had made a _'pfft' _sound with this mouth and replied "Why would I want too? Why would I want to be crowded with a bunch of people I probably won't like, when I can much more peacefully walk with you?" She had run some fingers through her hair to hide the blush on her face at that. "Besides, I have legs. I like to use them."

Now they watched Minion and Abraham walking side by side, talking like they had known each other for years. Every now and then Abraham would have to jog to catch up with Minion's longer footsteps; his little head was tilted up to look at Minion's tall dome. Minion also had his body angled downward to look at the bearbot, his face nearly pressed up to the glass, but they were both doing it as though it were natural, completely at ease. She thought back to the first time Abraham spoke in front of them; at first they looked around wondering where the child's voice had come from. Then they both stated with surprised but smiling faces, "We didn't know he could talk!"

Nigma chuckled, "It's so easy for them. It must be a glowing thing."

"Well it certainly isn't a minion thing." Roxanne agreed, "Tasslers has proven that plenty of times."

"Yes, there is definitely something wrong with that eel." Then he rewound. "I really like Abraham's light. It reminds me of the first moon."

She responded without thinking, "It reminds me more of a candle's light."

He looked at her in confusion, "What is a _kenndall_?"

_Oh, duh. Of course he won't know what a candle is; they don't have them on this planet. _Roxanne had learned of candles once when reading her electronic Earth Encyclopedia. She thought a moment on how to explain. "A candle is a small column of wax with something flammable at its center called the wick. The wick sticks out of the top and when it's set on fire it provides a tame flame for light, and it slowly burns away, melting the wax until there's nothing left and it needs to be replaced. Sometimes they can be scented. Candles are something from my home planet."

Nigmadem hadn't been brave enough to ask about Roxanne's home planet before, even though he'd been curious of her origins since he first saw her. Once an opening had been presented, he had to stop from jumping in, taking baby steps instead, "_Kenndalls_ sound clever."

"No, not really. They were pretty primitive. Basic." She looked ahead with a blank expression, ignoring his mispronunciation.

"Basic doesn't mean bad. Basic can be a good thing. We tend to over-complicate things on this planet. It's if it works that's important, who cares if it's simple?"

She smiled at that. "I suppose so." _I don't think the same can be said about simple minds, though._

"What's your home planet named?" He asked softly.

"Earth," She answered, with a sigh he doesn't understand. It makes him back off of the topic.

"I'd like to learn more about Earth sometime." He admitted honestly, successfully ending the conversation until later.

She stared up at the sky in its turmoil and briefly wondered when the clouds would let down their load of rain and move on. She wished she could see the stars right now. After a few seconds of silence, she finally responded in a distracted tone, "…Oh, yeah? I think I can make that happen for you."

Nigmadem joined in the silent staring, and with a few glances in his direction Roxanne concluded he was contemplating something. His hands were clasped behind his back, head angled toward the sky the way she had hers. A moment of silence passed before he spoke again. "Roxanne, would you mind if I took you somewhere secret? I know this place, and it's, well, it's special." He said, avoiding giving any specific details. "I think you'd appreciate it."

Roxanne took her eyes off of the sky to look at him, a hesitant smile on her lips. If it's a secret place that means no one else knows about it. It also means they would probably be alone, and the thought makes her nervous, being alone with someone sounds dangerous. _Who would help me if I were in trouble anyway, besides Abraham? I'm alone no matter where I am._ "I think I would mind, actually," She replied honestly, fiddling with the cuff of one her hear sleeves, "Where is this special place?"

"Oh, you know…not too far away…in the woods, at night."

A fearful chuckle escaped her lips, "I didn't ask when! Unless this place in the woods only exists at night?"

"Pfft, no, nothing like that, though that would be cool. It would make it even more secret if it didn't exist during the day, though, then you'd have to wonder what would happen if you where there when morning came. Would you cease to exist too? And would you exist again when night returned? Would you remember not existing? And how –"

"Why does it have to be at night?" She asked, cutting off it rambling.

"It's better at night. Does it being at night bother you?"

"No. I just don't…like it when it isn't light out."

"There will be light! Especially if we go tonight, or tomorrow night. It would be ideal."

When the shoolshuttle zips by them they both look surprised. They're supposed to arrive at shool before the shuttle; neither of them had noticed they had both started walking slower to have more time to talk. They both pick up the pace, and by that time Roxanne had made her mind. "Alright."

"Really? You'll go? When, tonight, or tomorrow?"

"It doesn't matter." Her voice had grown quiet, as though she might back out if she kept talking.

"Tonight then! W-we can meet at the croscalator! Roxanne, thank you, I promise you'll love it!" In his excitement, he placed a hand on Roxanne's shoulder. She flinched, and as if by some sixth sense at her discomfort, Abraham stared back at Nigma with a chilling focus. Minion just looked back and forth between them, not quite following what's going on. He quickly took back the appendage, muttering, "S-sorry…I got, carried away, hehe..."

Roxanne looked away with burning eyes, covering her hand where his was a moment ago, not liking how her shoulder suddenly felt very cold. "It's okay," she said, almost in a whisper.

Arriving at the shoolbuilding, Nigmadem joined Minion's side once again, noting Roxanne's almost inaudible voice. He decided to leave before doing anything else stupid to upset her. "So…tonight?" After she gave a nod, he nodded back and he and Minion part with the human and her bear.

* * *

><p>For the rest of that day, Roxanne spent her time freshening up on her knowledge of candles, their purpose and history in different earthling cultures, thinking back fondly on that morning's conversation, even if it had taken an awkward turn near the end. There was no point in paying attention to the lessons anyway, when would she ever comprehend how to manipulate gravity with <em>and <em>without the use of powerful magnetic and centrifugal force, when she could barely understand the science behind how _normal _gravity works?

A light a top of the classroom door flashed yellow, signaling dismissal. In the hallways, people talked more excitedly than normal. She walked through the crowd slower than usual, trying to listen in on conversations to learn what's got everyone so spirited. She manages to catch parts of sentences, "…going to be the worst time of my life…!" and "…can't wait, it'll be so interesting…!" Clearly there were mixed feelings about whatever was going on. Listening harder, she started to piece the puzzle together – something about a special visit from somewhere far away. Who was visiting from where? Everyone was talking at once now; she couldn't make any words out from the noise.

Nearing her pocket, she spotted Minion putting things away in the pocket two down from hers for his master. _He'll probably know what the ruckus is about._ She made her feet move faster, wanting to reach him before the crowd clustered any further, only to walk face first into the back of a robotic suit. Staggering back, she brought hands up to her face and hissed though her teeth. _That _really _hurt! _While she checked to see if she had broken her nose, and after Abraham had leaned in from her shoulder to examine her face, the bearbot looked up to see what obstacle had came in their path. He could have guessed, though.

Leering down at them with beady, sour yellow eyes was Tasslers. His whiskers curled and the tiny spined fins on either side of his wedge-like head flared. "Watch where you're going, Oddity," he sneered, voice gravely as always, "You'll put a dent in my suit." She couldn't watch anything as tears prickled her eyes from the pain, blurring her vision as her hands felt the dent in her face.

Minion approached then, apparently not having heard Tasslers's comment, or pretending not too. "Excuse me, Tasslers, but I do believe the correct thing to do is apologize. You did walk in front of Ms. Ritchi quite abruptly, I'm sure it was an accident." The fish was forcing politeness, Roxanne could tell.

"I don't have to apologize for anything, especially not to this waste of matter." The eel said bluntly, turning in his dome to face Minion. His sides rubbed against the glass when he did so, thick body having grown too big for his enclosure.

Minion frowned but kept an even tone, "I think you're mistaken. Roxanne is a pupil, and you're a minion. Your below her, you should ask pardon."

"That would be to imply she was equal to a scirian. Since she clearly is not, I don't have to abide by those codes. Not that you do either."

His bioluminescent brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"It drives all the rest of us minions crazy, the way you're so chummy with your master. It's sickening, you acting as though your equals." His yellow eyes narrowed.

"The relationship between my Sir and I is one of friendship, not of minion and master, but it doesn't mean I fail at my duties. I'm a prime example of proper etiquette." Minion said, brown eyes narrowing too.

The glare they shared seemed to make the air crackle with electricity. "Either this human filth," Tasslers indicated Roxanne with a flick of his frilly tail, "has plagued him somehow or your master has a glitch in his brain. All four of you, including the cushioned robot, are a group of abnormalities."

Roxanne backed away slightly when Minion's glowing orbs flashed red in a display of aggression and he took a step closer to Tasslers, "How dare you question the status of my Sir's mind just because your master doesn't know the meaning of the word kindness!" By this time the crowd had turned its focus onto the quarreling minions. Tasslers's body started to writhe within his tight fitting dome.

"How dare you question my Miss's vast vocabulary! Simply because she knows the proper way to treat a minion and your master is too oblivious to care! You shut your underbite, Bobbles!"

"Make me, Whiskers!" The glass of their dome's were clinked, they were so close.

"If this glass wasn't in the way, I'd silence you forever!" Tassler's body tied and untied inself into knots.

"We can fix that; there's a small pond near buy, we can take this outside and I can put these teeth to some real work!"

"STOP!"

Nigmadem and Vivinie's voices rang through the hall; word had finally reached them about their minions' fight. The words coming from the fish had turned into hisses and snarls that only fish could make. At the order, Minion had backed off and silenced obediently. Tasslers, however, went from writhing to full out spasm attack, and the sounds emitting from his throat were ones of pain. It took a moment for everyone to realize what was happening, and by that time Vivinie had taken her thumb off of a button on a remote labeled 'electric punishment'. It was something all minion suits were equipped with, an electric pulse could be sent through the water in their domes if they were misbehaving. It was rare to see it in use, and Nigma was appalled to see Vivinie use it so casually. He narrowed his eyes at her, "That was unnecessary."

Vivinie pocketed the device, "I don't tell you how to treat your minion." Tasslers pseudo-body swayed, but didn't fall to his knees as would be expected. _Must have a lot of experience, _Nigma thought grimly. The eel stumbled over to her and he and Vivinie left without another word. She was probably saving a scolding for home.

Nigma walked over to stand next to Roxanne, and directed Minion, "What was that about? You were in rare form, my fishy friend." He said with a teasing smile and twisted brow. Minion looked abashed. "I'm sorry Sir. That no good excuse for a sea maggot insulted us all, I let my anger get the better of me."

"Yes, well, I do believe Tasslers's behavior is a direct result of his treatment." He said with a frown, looking meaningfully at Roxanne. She was covering her mouth and nose. He wondered if the insult was bad enough to upset her, her eyes were glassy.

"It's hard to feel sorry for him right now," Minion grumbled. "He also hurt Ms. Ritchi's face with his rudeness."

"What?" He looked back to Roxanne again and watched a stream of blood trail down her chin from under her hands. "Oh my goodness, Roxanne, you're bleeding! What happened?" He questioned, silently noting they had the same blood color.

She explained how she had walked face-first into Tasslers's robot back as Nigmadem and Minion escorted her to the shool healer; Abraham stroked her hair in a hesitant soothing motion. They walked through the automatic doors of the healer's office and a man who was both chubby and tall with a silver mustache and dark grey eyes looked up and sighed. "Well, if it isn't my most frequent patient. What's it this time, Raxain?" Roxanne took her hands away from her face to reveal a swollen nose and a nice smear of blood over her lips and chin. Everyone grimaced except for the healer, who commented, "Oooh, a broken nose huh? That's a new one from you." Luckily with the advanced technology of the planet, all it took was a shot to numb, and the quick work of a surgical robot that specialized on small bones to have her nose good as new again. No stitches, all that was evidence of the procedure was a pale scar which would be completely gone by the next day.

* * *

><p>"Are you <em>sure<em> you're still up for tonight?" Nigma asked Roxanne for the fifth time on their walk home. Everything was wet and puddles blotched the surroundings, footprints of the down pour and storm that had finally passed. He wasn't sure if the day's events made her change her mind.

"Yes, I'm _sure_," Roxanne repeated with a laugh, "That's it, finally answer, the end! Stop asking already!"

"Okay, okay!" He yielded, smiling.

Despite the minion fight she caused that almost got physical and the busted face, Roxanne couldn't help being in good spirits, the content smile on her face wouldn't fade. Staring a head at Minion, her smile grew watching the fish that had come to her defense. And then she remembered why she had been approaching him in the first place. "That's right; I wanted to ask you something!" She exclaimed to no one in particular after a moment of silence.

Everyone turned to look at her, giving a confused "Who?" at the same time. She shook her head at the indirectness of her statement, "Minion! I mean anyone. I mean, it doesn't matter who, just someone, tell me why everyone was so excited at shool today! Something about a visitor? Visitors?"

Nigmadem blinked at her blankly for a moment before asking, "You mean, you don't know?" After receiving a look from Roxanne that said _umm, well, Duh, _he gave her an answer. "Our neighbors are coming over."


	9. Beauty and Knowledge

**Chapter 9: Beauty and Knowledge**

By 'Our neighbors' Nigma had been talking about a much larger scale, Roxanne had discovered as he explained the upcoming event on their walk back from shool. He hadn't meant neighbor as in the building over, he had meant neighbor as in the _planet _over. The large, intimidating, slowly revolving, slowly rotating, moonless, golden planet with a single dense band of dust and ice: Geoluperia.

Nigmadem said the event was called _Deciemesh_. Every decade, a group of povoirans, which were the intelligent species of the planet, would travel from their planet to Caelumar as a kind of 'learning' experience for both povoirans and scirians. That last_ Deciemesh_ happened when Roxanne was six years old, and it would happen again now that she was sixteen. The povoirans who made the journey were chosen from the youth, only adolescents deemed mature and with enough self-control were picked. Not only was it for the education of the youths, but it also symbolized the long standing peace between the two worlds – something everyone seemed eager to maintain.

The planets had a system interplanetary trade, but direct interaction between the two races had become rare over millenniums of technological advancement. The people of Caelumar had mixed feelings about _Deciemesh_ ; they are either fearful of the povoirans, excited to meet them, think it's a waste of time, or feel it's another opportunity for the povoirans to steal scirian technology. One thing everyone agreed on, however, was that it was good the event didn't go both ways. No one in their right mind would want to visit the inhospitably inhabited planet where even the most impervious of the living struggled to stay alive.

Roxanne decided she was excited about it, even if the thought of meeting beings that had extraordinary strength, the ability to fly, lasers vision, and super speed made her a little apprehensive. It would be nice to be surrounded by people that looked like her, even if they had an entirely different body build, and were lacking in freckles. At least they had hair and tan skin. She felt lucky her district had been chosen to be one of the many hosts across the planet for the far traveling guests. Too bad they wouldn't arrive for another thirty so star rises. She wondered how they would react to her, if they would be welcoming of a species that shared their face, or if they would shun her for her lack in super powers. _Well, _she thought as she prepared for her night adventure, _I guess I'll find out when they get here_.

Night fell entirely too slowly, but now that it was here, she felt it was too soon. She had second thoughts about going outside, in the dark, at night, in the woods – a place she'd never been too or even thought of going too. Where does one even find a wood in this world of high chrome buildings of all sizes and shapes, wall to wall, fence to fence? The only trees and grass she had seen were ones placed by the roads, and it would seem they were only there for decoration, a brief slab of nature in the shiny metallic environment of computers and croscalators and shuttles. But, apparently, Nigma new a place and wanted to show her. So she would put on a brave face, swallow her fear, and go for her friend. _He did say there would light, didn't he?_

Nannarry halted her on her way out the door, "And where are you going at this late hour, Ritchi? It's pretty dark out there," She said knowingly.

"Out. With a friend," Roxanne replied simply, if not smugly, looking down at Abraham by her feet instead of at the silver eyed woman addressing her. She hadn't told Nannarry about Nigma, and hadn't had any reason too.

"A friend? Since when do you have a friend?"

Roxanne crossed her arms, "I told you once a long time ago I could make friends. It just took a while." She sounded defensive.

"What kind of friend, what are they named?"

"Nigmadem," She was getting impatient with the interrogation. _Why does she even care?_

"A boy?"

"Yes, a boy! A friend who's a boy! I have a friend who is a boy, can I go now?"

Nannarry frowned, but shrugged as if she could care less. "If you think it's a good idea, there's no changing your mind anyway, is there?"

"I'll be back," Roxanne promised, and exited the building.

Reaching the croscalator where they were to meet, she sighed in relieve when she saw the glowing fish standing besides his master, already there waiting for her. _Oh good, he brought Minion with him. _It wasn't only that she liked having the extra light, but she wasn't sure Nigma wanted it to be just the two of them tonight. She had hesitated with bringing Abraham along, but gave in, knowing there was no way she could walk in the dark at night without him leading the way.

Nigma looked sour faced, but instantly brightened when he spotted Roxanne nearing. "See, Minion, here's Roxanne now! I told you she'd come." Minion rolled his eyes, "Sure you did, Sir." She smirked, and had a feeling they had been arguing the opposite before she arrived.

Minion acted as leader and guided everyone back over the croscalator, with Abraham at his side, and Nigmadem and Roxanne taking up the rear. "So how long have you known about this 'special place' if you say you're new to the district?" Roxanne inquired curiously."

"Oh, I've known of this place since Minion and I were eight years old. This is my first time living here, but I used to come down here all the time with my parents to visit family and what not. Every time, we'd go to the place you're about to see."

Soon they were standing in front of one of the wider, taller structures of the area which had many floors where multiple families could live under the same roof. She hesitated when Nigma and Minion walked up to the entrance, "Why are you going in there?" They looked back and motioned for her to follow, "This is where I live, our arrangement is on the top floor," Nigma explained, "Come on; we have to go through here and out the back in order to get to the woods." She stalled a moment longer, wishing the buildings weren't built so close together their walls kissed so that they could just go around. She didn't like the idea of walking through a place full of people with distasteful gazes, but finally followed them.

The interior was oddly styled and completely riddled with advanced technology, just like the rest of the world. The walls were round and had absolutely no corners, vertexes, and edges, and seemed to be made of a computer screen – virtual clouds danced a cross an artificial blue sky. Thick glass was the floor, and beneath the glass electric charges reached up to where your feet were, licking the other side of the glass like ravenous tongues that followed you whenever you took a step. Chairs in the lobby floated, and the transparent tube of an elevator made a center piece. Everything that wasn't a sky or decorative electricity was polished white. _Fancy, _Roxanne thought silently, _hard to believe this place is middle class. _

Once inside, heads turned and directed grimaces towards the human in the room, while others simply looked her up and down in surprise. Those who were surprised had probably never seen her around before. It didn't matter how they were staring at her, Nigmadem met everyone with an open glare. "Staring is _rude_," he pronounced loudly for all to hear, and slowly everyone looked away, a distant snort of disbelief came from someone. Roxanne curtained herself from the world with her long hair and covered her mouth with a hand to have a fight with a bout of nervous laughter even though nothing was funny. "I can't believe you just did that," she said in a trembling whisper through her fingers. Nigma shrugged, "I only offered them the truth. Staring _is _rude." He started walking again and she kept up.

The group nearly made it to a door coming out of a deceptively realistic cumulonimbus cloud when a woman's voice stopped them, "Nigmadem! I thought it was your voice a heard echoing through the place." Nigmadem whipped around, "Mo-mother! You're home!"

Roxanne turned around and her breath hitched – she was beautiful! She had perfect dark lips that required no makeup, and only a faint shade of blue accented her eyes, but the most noticeable of her features were her striking green eyes. _So that's where Nigma get's his_. Her natural beauty was stunning, and Roxanne swallowed a lump in her throat, knowing she would never be pretty. As the two held each other's faces and press their foreheads together, she looked away from their moment.

"What are you doing here, shouldn't you be at work?"

"I finished my quota early so they were kind enough to dismiss me sooner. Your father is still not as fast with his hands as I am, he stayed behind." Her emerald irises spotted the human in the room, and Roxanne's heart skipped a beat at her smile. "So, this is the unique and lovely creature you've told us about?"

Nigma purpled and coughed sheepishly, "Y-yes. This is Roxanne."

_Unique and lovely? _Roxanne blinked and peered up at the older woman in a stupor.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Roxanne. I'm Dame Shibirry Kerserem. My spouse is Husman Tukun Kerserem. It's ashame he isn't here; he'd love to meet you as well." Shibirry extended a hand and Roxanne felt stupid when she didn't know what to do with it. Abraham climbed up her back and whispered into her ear, "Join hands with Dame Kerserem, Ms. Ritchi." _Oh, duh. I've never handlocked with someone before! _Handlocking was like handshaking on earth, she realized, except instead of moving hands up and down, you twisted your wrists to one side and then the other, like locking something with a key. Shibirry's hand was soft and warm with a delicate grip, while Roxanne's were cold and trembling. "Thank you. I mean, the pleasure is mine." She said quietly.

Nigma was barely containing his excitement as he watched his mother meet Roxanne. She seemed accepting of her. Not that he was surprised; he knew his mother would see her how he did. His father probably would too. He grinned like a fool, and hesitated looking at the door again, not knowing when he'd get to see Shibirry again, since she was always at work. "Listen, mother, I know we never see each other anymore…but, we were just heading somewhere…"

Just then, Shibirry's minion approached from behind and tapped her on the shoulder to whisper something in her ear. The pudgy red and orange striped octopus creature with stubby tentacles and lacey fins looked apologetically at her master and master's son with black marble- like eyes. Shibirry signed, but smiled and waved them off, "It's fine. Plummers here is telling me I'm needed somewhere now anyway, you four have fun."

They nodded and waved good bye before turning back to the door in the wall. It led to what seemed to be a storage room, and beyond that room was an area entirely dedicated to the overflow of wires, modems, and other electronics that fed into the magnificence of the building, sprouting out of the walls like out of control vines. It was cold because of the chilly fog that crept through the place to prevent overheating. Beyond the tangle was a final door, which they exited through swiftly.

Being in the lobby with walls designed to mimic the day time sky was a bit disorienting, Roxanne found, as she walked outside into the darkness of night. She shivered involuntarily even though the air was rather warm. "Are we close? To the place?"

"Very! Let's go!" Nigma replied indicating a wall the height of an average person. "It's just over this wall and a short walk after that. I promise." She watched him climb up and over the wall like a pro. Then Minion approached her with his hands out, "May I?" She glanced at the wall and back to him and nodded slowly, and he picked her up by the hips and sat her on the top where she made the rest of the way over on her own. Minion climbed over himself with Abraham on his shoulder. Roxanne glanced around at the environment now around her. It was completely different from what she was used too, nothing but huge trees which were packed closely together, dark with red leaves, and red undergrowth made the floor of the wood. It was spooky. _Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all…_

"Now close your eyes."

…_Wait, what?_ "Wait, what? Close my eyes? In this dark place? Full of th-things?"

"Do you trust me?"

"I-I suppose, but –"

"Then close your eyes!" And with that he started off, leaving Minion to guide her from behind by the shoulders. "Eyes closed, Ms. Ritchi. Nothing dangerous in these woods except for me!" He said with a toothy grin. She nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, more out of fear of what might jump out at her from the shadows than anything, while he coaxed her forward. Abraham walked down Minion's arm to her shoulder, and she instinctively grabbed him and clutched him to her chest.

Looking back at her, Nigma had to stop himself from chuckling out loud at her scrunched up face. She really _was_ afraid of the dark; he smiled when he realized how she would have to trust him to allow him to take her to a place like this at night. _Better not mess this up. _

Roxanne had just tripped over her own feet for the fourth time when she heard him say, "Okay, you can open your eyes now," so fast and excitedly the sentence sounded like one word. Minion took his hands away, and when she opened her eyes, she wobbled and jumped backwards at the sight she saw. And then what she was seeing sank in. And then she heard herself go, "Wow," about ten times under her breath.

Before her was a lake, but the surface was so perfectly still, and reflected the sky above so well, one could mistake it as if a hole was cut out of the planet all the way to the other side, so that if you were to get too close, you could fall into never ending space. This is why Roxanne had jumped, feeling she was too close to the edge. Above, the stars shone brightly behind space clouds, and the two moons were the same height in the sky. Looking at the water's surface, anyone would believe there were four moons. The light from the sky and the reflection gave everything a silver blush.

Nigma walked over to her while she continued to stare, spellbound. "Sooo…what do you think?"

"This place is amazing, Nigmadem! It, it, this, it's, this is just…there _are no_ words."

He smiled widely, "I'm glad you like it, Roxanne. I knew you of all people would be able to see it for what it is, instead of what it could be, like space to be developed upon. I've never shown it to anyone, it's a total secret."

"Like it? Nigma, I love this. And I do appreciate it, this place is so…tranquil…_pure._" She took her eyes off of the lake for the first time to look at him, "Thank you for showing me this. Thank you for trusting me." She said quietly.

"You're welcome."

"The pH levels are perfect, Sir." Minion's voice cut in. Looking over her shoulder, Roxanne saw him poking his robot finger into the water and reading blue text that was appearing on the front of his glass dome. Ripples spread out through the surface of the water from the finger, temporarily destroying the illusion.

Nigma blinked and shook his head, "Huh-Oh, yes. Excellent Minion."

"That reminds me!" Roxanne said suddenly, digging into one of her pockets, "I brought something to show you, too." From her pocket she brought out a small glowing blue sphere. "Who ever invented pseudo-dehydration has got to be ridiculously rich," She said as she dipped her own finger into the lake water and dripped it onto the sphere, which then transformed into a kind of hand held device.

"And whoever invented pseudo-dehydration has got to be ridiculously stupid. Having the object dehydrate into a cube shape would have been a much more practical design. Dehydration cubes would be better than dehydration spheres any day. And what's that?" He questioned, pointing at the electronic.

She held the device close to her heart, and Nigma recognized it as the same device she had dropped on the floor when Abraham was used in a game of catch, the same day he had truly spoken with her for the first time. The way she cradled it and smoothed her thumbs over the plastic shell, he could tell it was something special. "This," She began slowly, "is what I call my Earth Encyclopedia. It contains all the information I could ever want about my home world." Roxanne's eyes flicked up to his and then back down to the device, "You did say you wanted to learn more about Earth…right?"

He was momentarily silenced at her willingness to share with him such precious and private information. Then he shook himself, "Yes, absolutely! That encyclopedia was sent with you when you came here?"

Roxanne chuckled, "You mean you can't recognize your own world's technology? No, this device was created for me; the information was originally contained in books and other items from my planet."

"What's a _bukk_?"

"And so it begins!" She said with a smile. "Is there any place we can sit around here?"

Nigmadem led her over to a boulder resting on the edge of the trees a small way away from the shore. It looked smoothed from the many times he'd sat on it with Minion when they visited. They took a seat and Roxanne explained what books were as she turned the encyclopedia on. The screen came to life with a rotating image of Earth. "Beautiful." He commented, staring at the blue and green planet with white caps and swirling clouds. "What's all of that green?"

"Vegetation." She answered as she tapped the touch screen a few times, bringing up a new image. "And this is what a book looks like. If you didn't want to use artificial light, you could read them with candles."

"Oh! oh! Show me what a candle looks like!"

It was for a long while they just sat with Roxanne teaching Nigma about Earth, about how most of the vegetation was green instead of red, about the weather and geography and how similar it was to Caelumar, about how there was only one moon named Luna and one star named Sun, about what freckles really were, and about the people and races. When Nigma had first seen an image with all different colored humans, he had asked enthusiastically if she could change the color of her skin. Finally she started to show him the different animals, beginning naturally with fish and other marine life.

"Dolphins would make great minions if they were smaller," He commented.

"And dolphins aren't the only intelligent mammals; apes have pretty impressive brains too. There's some speculation that humans evolved from apes, like chimpanzees." Roxanne pulled up information and pictures about apes.

"We aren't sure where scirians evolved from. Don't even mention a missing link; we have a completely broken chain. We probably just haven't looked hard enough; society is too busy sticking its head in clouds to be digging holes."

"I think your species probably just thought itself up one day," She commented jokingly.

He laughed and agreed, "Yeah, probably. Tell me more about apes."

"Many apes are capable of creating and using tools, or even learning how to communicate through hand signs."

"What is _That_?" He asked, pointing at a black hairy beast baring its teeth.

"That's a gorilla," She tapped the image to bring up more gorilla info. "They're the biggest of the apes and live in social groups with an intricate hierarchy. That's a picture of a silverback, a dominate male.

"I like gorillas. I like them a lot." He smirked and stroked the hair on his chin as though pondering something. Then he thought of something, "Hey, what kind of animal is Abraham supposed to be?"

Roxanne looked up at her teddy. He was sitting on the still form of Minion's robot body while Minion himself swam in the lake. Minion poked his face out of the water and laughed when Abraham acted startled after Minion's fishless body stood up and started walking around. Then Abraham looked like he was spurring the body forward while Minion swam along side. He looked like he was having fun, until she remembered he wasn't real, and he wasn't really having fun, he was only acting. It was fake-fun. She blinked and looked back down at the encyclopedia, "Abraham is designed to look like the toy form of a bear called a teddy bear." She brought up pictures and data all about bears on the screen. "Bears are large carnivorous mammals who can be very aggressive and territorial, especially about their young, who are called cubs. They can also be very social and loving."

Nigma smiled at the robot and his minion playing. "It suits him, I think."

"Hmmm,"

He sensed it was time for a topic change. "I think I'd like to visit Earth someday in the future, if I ever earn a space travel permit."

Roxanne faced him directly then, surprise and sorrow evident in her facial features. "What?" Nigma asked, confused.

"Oh, I'm sorry Nigma I didn't mean too…but I guess the way I was talking…Nigma, Earth doesn't exist anymore. It's dead, I was sent here right before the Sun went super nova. I'm the last of my kind, Nigma, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner…"

It was then Nigmadem decided that he was a part of the most intelligent species who didn't _think_. He had never even questioned why Roxanne was here, he just new she was, and he was glad. Of course there was a _reason_; no one is just sent away from their home to a foreign world at random. And why was _she _apologizing to _him_, he was the one too stupid to make the connection? _How tragic and completely lonely, _he thought, and then realized she was still talking.

"…I was talking as though Earth was still around. I guess that was a subconscious decision. Sometimes I allow myself to believe it's still out there, waiting for me to return. But I'm just lying to myself. There is no going back, there's no one waiting for me. Sometimes I wish I could have shared the rest of humanities fate, or that I was never found out in that asteroid field." Her voice trailed off to a whisper, and her eyes were distant as they stared out into the stars. _I'm not going to cry, _she told herself, _I haven't cried since I was ten._

Nigmadem didn't know what to say or if he should speak at all, so he did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He reached out and took hold of one her hands, covering it with his own and gave a gentle squeeze. The action spoke louder than words; _you're not alone any more._ She couldn't hold back the tears after that.


	10. Deciemesh and the Human

**Chapter 10: Deciemesh and the Human**

_Snip, snip, snip._ Hair clippings fluttered down into the waste disposal unit and disappeared as they were sucked away into their proper category of waste. Everything was organized on this planet, even the trash. Roxanne stood in front a mirror as she carefully trimmed her burnet locks down to a shorter length. When she was done her hair would stop at her ears. She smiled when she thought about why she was doing this, thinking back to that night in the woods with Nigmadem and all of the things they had talked about.

She had cried for a good while after she had told him about her planets demise, and all the while he kept hold of her hand. He didn't let go after she had stopped, however, he held her hand for the rest of the night. Even though Roxanne wasn't used to touching others, she didn't object, she rather enjoyed it actually. Being around him, she was slowly growing used to such things.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, "I should have thought about why you were here sooner."

"No, it's okay." She had replied, still sniffling silently. "It's not something I tell people, I guess it's kind of a secret I keep. You're the first person I've told. The only other people who know are the people who found me as a baby, and my guardian."

He thought for a moment, and then smiled. "I've got a secret I could tell you too, if you want to hear it."

"What is it?" She had asked, giving a small smile back and facing him fully.

He nodded to Minion, who was busy doing flips in the open water of the lake. "Minion isn't just special because he's my minion; he's special because he isn't from Caelumar."

Her eye brows shot up, "I thought all minions were fish indigenous to the planet? Where is he from?"

As Nigma looked up at the moons, Roxanne had felt a story coming on. "My parents used to be marine biologists who were assigned to _Dwomano_, our second moon, which is, as you know, completely covered in water and ice. One day my father was investigating the life of one of the more inhospitable areas of the moon, deep down where volcanic vents spewed into below freezing waters under layers of ice. It was there he found a particularly resilient and intelligent species of fish, a fish that provided its own light and survived in family groups."

"Minion's species," She had guessed with a grin.

"Minion's species," He confirmed with a nod, "They were protecting a large cluster of eggs, and at that time I was still growing in my mother's womb. My father thought it would be a great idea to give me one of these fish as my minion, so he gathered one of the eggs from the cluster and brought it back here to be minionized. Of course it cost my parents their jobs, but we all feel it was worth it. Now they work as minion manufacturers. The reason we moved here is because the factory changed locations."

_I'm glad it did. _She had thought and unconsciously gave his hand a squeeze. Then she looked at Minion again, and smiled when she remembered the day Vivinie tried to impress Nigmadem with her own minion's superiority. She remembered her bragging about how Tasslers had started using his arms at age nine and started talking at eleven, and she chuckled when she remembered her face when Nigma told her how Minion had started using his arms at age four and started talking at age six.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about Minion. He really is a fantastic fish."

"I think the moon's themselves are pretty fantastic," He went on to say, "_Dwomano_, the blue moon of water, and _Dwimani_, the orange moon of sand. They're complete opposites and yet their orbits mirror each other perfectly. They work in perfect harmony with each other. Not to mention they're complimentary colors." He looked down at their hands, blue fingers tangled with peach. "They complete each other, really."

She blushed, but had looked away with a frown, "Everyone else seems to think blue does just fine without orange. Everyone else seems to believe blue would be a lot better off if orange disappeared."

"You know what's wrong with everyone else?" He asked, "Everyone else is jealous."

"Jealous of orange?"

"Jealous of you!"

"Why would anyone ever be jealous of me?"

"You're eyes. There're blue. My people are vain, Roxanne. Nothing is truly beautiful unless it's blue like we are. But our eyes don't come in blue. If a scirian could have natural blue eyes, they'd think themselves perfect."

"Well, my eyes may be beautiful, but that's about the only thing about me that is." She had replied with a sad smile.

"How can you tell? You're always hiding behind your hair, sometimes I wonder if you even have a face!" He said, laughing. "Isn't there something you could do about that? Some kind of hair style that would let you have both hair and a face? I'm sure there's an earth word for it."

She had giggled, "You want me to get bangs?"

"Yes! I think you would look beautiful with _bungs_. Um…what are _bungs_ exactly?"

_Snip, snip, snip. _A few more snippets of hair fell from her face. After looking at herself from all angles and sides, she nodded to herself and approved. "There, that ought to do it." Now instead of long locks that fell in front of her eyes, her hair framed her face in smooth feathers. She wondered what Nigmadem would think when he saw she had gone through his idea. It was now thirty-two days since their night by the lake, and today was _Deciemesh_, the day the povoirans came over from Geoluperia. As always, she was going to meet him by the croscalator and together, with Minion and Abraham, they would travel to the center of the city where the landing platform for the povoiran ship was. Roxanne was excited to see the povoirans and for them to see her. She had seen them in pictures and videos, but she was sure it would be different in person. Right now, however, she was just excited to see Nigmadem and for him to see her new hair. With that excitement was a strange feeling in her chest where her heart was which she didn't understand.

After gathering Abraham onto her shoulders, she made her way to the door. There, Nannarry looked as though she had something to say, but before she could utter a word her voice was seized by a bout of violent coughs. _She's been coughing a lot lately, _Roxanne observed. Without thinking, she placed her hand on the older woman's shoulder, "Oh my life, Nannarry, are you okay?"

Nannarry swatted her hand away, "Get off of – _cough_ – me. I'm f – _cough_ – fine. It's just a cough, it'll – _cough_ – pass." When she finally got her coughing under control, she continued in a steady, if not raspy voice. "I'm guessing you're going to _Deciemesh_?"

"That was the plan, yes. Why?"

The woman hesitated, and then continued with firmness, "I don't want you going."

Roxanne's eyes widened. "What! Why not?"

"I simply don't think it's a good idea for you to be seen by so many people. There's going be quiet the crowd,"

"You never want me to be seen, what's so dangerous about it? I finally have a chance to meet people that look like me, and you're discouraging it? I don't _understand you _Nannarry, don't you want me to be happy at all?"

Nannarry's brows furrowed and she seemed to be struggling with something, "Just trust me, Ritchi, I have this feeling. It's for your own good."

Roxanne balled her hands into fists, "You know nothing about my own good. I'm going, and you can't stop me." _Actually I'm sure she could, but she won't. _"And I'm sick of your silly premonitions; I've been seen by a lot of people over the years, nothing's happened."

"Fine," Nannarry sighed, giving in, "but at least promise me you'll stay to the back of the crowd?"

"Fine," Roxanne grudgingly agreed, "I'm leaving now." And with that, she left.

Once outside she allowed herself a few moments to cool down. She didn't want to greet Nigma in a bad mood just because Nannarry was always plucking her nerves. To Roxanne, she felt some kind of furry pet with an owner who was trying to be nice, but kept petting her fur in the wrong direction. Nannarry was always going against her. It was infuriating. _Just think about the event. Just think about Nigmadem. _"Nigmadem." She remembered about why she was excited to see him and reached up to touch her newly cropped hair. _I hope he likes it._

She made it to the croscalator before him this time, but it wasn't long before she spotted both he and Minion sprinting down the other side of the busy street. He clamored up the croscalator and slammed on the brakes when he saw her. Minion nearly ran into him at the sudden halt. "Ah! Sir, what's the matter? Why did you…stop…?" Minion dropped his jaw because of Roxanne's appearance for the second time.

Nigma eventually remembered how to use words. "Roxanne! You're hair! It looks, you look…" he made it the rest of the way down the croscalator, "You look gorgeous." And to him, she really was gorgeous. Now that her hair was short, it didn't flow down her front and back, distorting her figure. He could fully appreciate her curves, though he tried not to be obvious with his staring. He could also better view her face now, round and rosey and soft with her new bangs veiling her small forehead.

Roxanne only flinched slightly when she saw him raise his hand to her face, but then let herself press her cheek fully into his palm. He smiled warmly and slid his fingers though her short hair, "So soft," she heard him mutter. "You went through with my idea after all," he continued louder.

She gave a small nod, his hand still exploring the top of her head. "A special new look for a special occasion."

"Indeed!" Minion said gleefully, "Just look what sir did to my suit! I think it's an improvement."

She blinked and noticed Minion's new look for the first time, and then busted out laughing, "Minion! You're a gorilla!" Minion's suit had been transformed from a sleek, scirianoid or humanoid figure, to a burly, furry gorilla shape. She smiled quirking a brow at Nigma.

He shrugged nonchalantly but beamed with pride, "I told you I liked the gorillas from earth."

"Clearly!" Roxanne giggled again, watching Minion strut around in his new gear.

"So! Are you ready to go welcome the povoirans?"

"Yes, but I was told to stay near the back of the crowd by Nannarry." Roxanne replied with a frown.

Nigma gapped, "What! Why? You won't even be able to see the ship touch down from that far away."

"She probably doesn't want the human stealing the spotlight from our guests." She balled her hands into fists, and then sighed, "But I did promise her I would. It was the only way she was going to let me go."

"You're mother is really strict towards you, isn't she?"

"Guardian. She's my guardian, not my mother." Roxanne corrected sharply.

"Guardian, yes, of course." He agreed quickly. "We'll, if we're lucky, one of the povoirans will fly by. Let's get going."

It wasn't a long walk from where they were to the center of the city. When they got there the crowd was already backed up pretty far. From where they were, they could only see the backs of blue heads. Some people were watching from the tops of buildings while others had brought hovering vehicles to park floating above everyone on the ground. The air was filled with chatter as people talked about how excited they were, or about how they were old enough to remember the last _Deciemesh_.

"How long do you think until they get here?" Roxanne wondered out loud.

"Well, they should be arriving any –"

"Hey there they are!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

Everyone grew silent and angled their eyes skyward. Coming closer and closer to the ground was a ship that looked like a giant golden egg with a white flame shooting out of the bottom. This was happening all around the world on this moment; Roxanne imagined the blue planet covered in shining gold dots.

Roxanne was staring intently at the nearing ship when all of a sudden she felt two cold hands grip her waist. "Aaand up you go!" Minion sang as he lifted her up and sat her on one of his new hairy shoulders. She gave a small "Eep!" and then gripped his glass dome, giggling. "Thanks Minion, the view is a lot better up here." Soon Nigmadem was on Minion's other shoulder. Abraham was still on Roxanne's own shoulder, surveying the surroundings with his normal protectiveness. From up here she could see the landing platform, though distantly. She could also see around the edge of the platform were people dressed in very official uniforms; they had flowing black capes and large black high collars. The collars curved around their heads like spoons and had a glowing white hem that seemed to pulsate. That was all she could see from that far, and she guessed they were special representatives of the planet sent to welcome the people of Geoluperia.

The glare coming off of the ship's golden surface was blinding and made Roxanne squint. It landed smoothly and silently, only with the sound of dying engines as it came to a stop. The crowd cheered at the successful landing and hushed again when three doors opened up high on the ships crown. She briefly wondered why there weren't stairs or a ramp for the povoirans to walk down from, and then she remembered they wouldn't need such things – povoirans could fly.

It was a sight to see when they finally emerged. Large, muscular young men and women floating out in a single file line, their bodies vertical and stiff, yet majestic. The whole thing looked rehearsed, and it may have been. They seemed hesitant to place their feet on the ground once they got low enough, as though it might shatter if they did. They all appeared to be completely uniform as they filed out of the golden egg; that was until Roxanne spotted what seemed to be two povoirans flying really close to one another. It almost looked like one was carrying the other, but they were so far away she couldn't tell. She watched them join the others and face the spoon-collared representatives.

Roxanne turned her head to make a comment to Nigma, when suddenly there was a collective "Gasp!" from the front of the crowd. She looked back and the entire first row was in some kind of an uproar. Then the second row was in a craze. By the look on Nigma's face, this wasn't supposed to be happening. The third row joined in. The commotion spread like a ripple until gradually the entire crowd started to shout Roxanne's name. "Roxanne! Roxanne! Is Roxanne here? Where's Roxanne?"

She gripped Minion's dome tighter in fear and confusion. "What the…?" Abraham hugged Roxanne's head and glared at the people in front of them when they turned around to face her, while Nigmadem placed a possessive hand on her free shoulder.

The people in front of them jumped up and grabbed at her, Roxanne screamed in shock and tried to kick them away, but they pulled her off of Minion and onto the ground. Nigma's hand was ripped from her shoulder and he reached out to her. "Roxanne!"

"Nigma, what's happening!" She was shoved and pushed and pulled through the crowd until Nigmadem was out of sight. "Come on, you need to get to the front!" Someone said.

"What? Why? What's going on?"

"Go, hurry!"

_I'm not even supposed to be near the front, I'm supposed to stay in the back of the crowd! _She screamed in her head as she tried to fight the current of blue hands pulling at her and failed. "Grrah! Let go of me!"

"There you are, Roxy!"

The voice didn't register until Vivinie had her arms wrapped around Roxanne's neck in a hug, making Abraham have to stand on Roxanne's head or get knocked off. _Hug. This is a hug. Vivinie is hugging me. She needs to not be hugging me. _Roxanne was stiff as a rod in Vivinie's embrace. "It took you so long get up here – a full thirty seconds in fact!"

Roxanne pushed her off, "What, you're behind this? Why did you have me dragged up here?" She demanded.

"But, oh, I'm so very happy for you. This is the best thing anyone could wish for!" Vivine went on to say.

Behind Vivinie to her left were Felleta and her minion, a silver fish in the shape of a whale with a hummingbird beak for a mouth. To her right was Tasslers, looking sinister as always. Felleta had a shy, but sincere smile on her face as she waved to Roxanne. "I'm happy for you too," She said in her flower voice. The smile on Vivinie's face was the kind of smile with an ulterior motive behind it.

Stomping her foot down in frustration, Roxanne shouted, "Why is everyone so happy for me?"

Vivinie turned her around a quite literally shoved her toward the row of povoirans. They all gasped in shock and recognition when they saw her, and all of their eyes directed to the center of the row expectantly. Feeling horribly exposed and extraordinarily curious, she followed their wide-eyed gazes. What she saw, and locked eyes with, left her frozen where she stood.

Abraham pointed and stiffened, and then seemed to short circuit. _Forgot something. I forgot something. Robots do not forget. Error. Error. _"Memory restored! It is the browned eyed infant! The brown eyed infant! Brown eyed infant! Infant! Infant! Infant! …." His black eyes turned blue and he fell off of Roxanne's head. She was too stunned to catch him.

It was then Nigmadem and Minion made it through the crowd looking frantic. He spotted Roxanne, and then wobbled when he saw what she was staring at. "…Another human!"


	11. Mother's Love

**Chapter 11: the Story of the Brown-Eyed Baby Part One – Mother's Love**

"No, stop, that's a restricted area!"

"Haha! What's it matter? We're all going to die anyway! The sun is dying, and I told you so, hahahaaa!"

The two male guards chased the crazed woman down the hall. It really didn't matter that she went into the rocket storage area, but the men would chase her down if only to keep their sanity during the suns expiration. She had frizzy, shoulder-blade length hair the color of straw that flew out behind her like a wool blanket as she sprinted toward a door labeled 'Authorized Personnel Only.' With a wicked grin on her face and a baby in one arm, she swiped a card into the doors security system and pushed it open; slipping in side with one last "I told you so!"

The woman pressed her back against a nearby file cabinet and pushed it in front of the door, then repeated the action until compiling a formidable blockade. A shrill laugh escaped her lips, and was abruptly cut off, her face straight and serious. She clutched the baby, who was curiously silent, to her chest and looked around the room, twirling around and taking everything in with twitchy movements. "Hah!" She shouted, after spotting what she had been searching for, pointing at it and stomping a foot in success. She then pointed the finger in the babies face, "Hah! Haha! I told you so!" The baby boy stared back with rich brown eyes that matched her own, only hers had the sparkle of an insane person.

In a clipped walk she approached a blocky one-person rocket, ignoring the sounds of kicking and punching coming from behind the barrier. Slinging the infant over her shoulder, she used both hands to open the hatch with an efficiency that showed she had done it before. "Here we are Bernie, that rocket I told you about. I told you I would get you here. I told you!" The woman placed the child into the cockpit and strapped him in. He wore nothing but a diaper.

She pulled out a brown and blue spotted baby blanket with the name 'Bernard' sewn on it from a bag she had, and tucked it around him after strapping him in. "It's cold in space, you'll need this, you will. I'm telling you, It'll be cold, trust me, I know. But don't worry, you won't be cold for long, no no no, you'll only be up there for a few days or so, no no not long at all. And then the blue ones will help you." She slapped her hands over her mouth and strangled an eruption of laughter. "Ohhhh I was right, Bernie. You didn't believe me and I was right, Ohohoho! They didn't believe me either, they didn't but they were wrong. They were! The blue ones are _real, _Bernie. They'll help you, they'll help you for sure. They've helped us before!" The baby called Bernie looked at her blankly, expression unchanging. "Don't you give me that look, you crazy baby! Pyramids and Stonehenges don't build themselves you know! You know that!"

Her demeanor was suddenly calm and her voice soft, eyes full of static and love. "Yes, you do know. You're my smart baby, aren't you? My very smart, smart, so very smart baby boy." She reached out to touch the single curl of blonde hair on his head with a shaky hand. "Oh yes, very smart. You aren't even crying. Do you know what's happening? No, probably not. But you've got that _feeling_ don't you? Yes, oh yes I can tell," she poked him in his button nose, "you can feel it. I don't know where you get your smarts. Mother isn't smart, no, mother isn't smart." Then suddenly she was ridged again, "But mother knows things, Bernard! I know things! Oh yes, do I know things. I know lots of things!"

"Open this door, right now!" The guards had managed to open the heavy door enough so that they could squeeze their arms through. The woman pecked the baby on the head with chapped lips and stood up to close the hatch, but not before jamming some kind of computer chip into a socket in the interior wall of the rocket. "Programmed and ready to go!" She sang with a too-cheery expression and tears rolling down her cheeks, while the proper emotions failed to reach her voice. "Good bye!" Spinning around, she lifted a leg and smashed a big red button with the heel of her foot, causing cracks and sparks in the control panel and starting Bernard's rocket to launch.

The guards breached the blockade and tackled the woman to the ground just as the single-person rocket started to lift off, filling the room with smoke and flames, puked from the engines. She smacked her head on the floor and started to bleed from her left eyebrow when they lifted her up and hauled her out of the room. "Mother loves her Bernie!" she screamed as she watched the rocket break through the three floors above them and reach the sky.

The men struggled to restrain the woman as she thrashed and roared in their arms. With her mane-like hair, and the strength of a mother on a mission, it was like fighting a human lion. One man grabbed her right wrist and stilled it to read the labeled silver band wrapped around it, "Freya Boyd…The hell? She's a mental patient! How was she able to get this deep into the facility?" The other man gaped, "Freya Boyd? I know that name! She used to work here!"

Freya chortled hysterically and spoke in a deep, reverberating tone that didn't sound like it should belong to her, "No one wants to believe a woman who speaks of aliens when she says the end is near! Not when she has no evidence because they won't look! Not when she does the things she does without permission, to convince, to save! They call her crazy! Lock her up!" Her eyes are wide and grin consuming, "But I was right! I was so right, I knew! I knew before anyone, before all of you! I told you so! I did! I told you so! I told you all!"

The first guard slapped her across the face and covered his ears, "Shut up, you're lying! It can't be true, the world can't be ending; I don't believe it! I won't!"

"You'll die in denial! You should move to Egypt, you'll start to believe when the sand turns to liquid glass under your feet!"

"I said shut up! How could you possibly know? How? What do you know?"

"You'd be surprised, the things I know." And then her worded start to skip and she repeated herself, over and over, in different voices and volumes, eyes have glazed over. "You'd be surprised, the things I know… _You'd be surprised, the things I know_. ..**You'd be surprised, the things I know**… You'd _be_ **surprised**, the _things_ **I** know…"

The second guard cuffed her and started to lead her away, grim faced, "Come on; let's get her back to the institution so she can get to know a straight jacket until… it's over."

* * *

><p>It's not until Bernard's rocket emerged from the atmosphere and started sailing smoothly through space that his bottom lip started to quiver. His little hands balled into fists around the soft blanket cocooning him, and he watched the stars through his tiny square window until his face turned red and his eyes swam with tears. One huff. Two huffs. Three huffs, and he finally he started to sob and scream and kick and swing his arms. His blanket fell off in the tantrum.<p>

Just then, as the blanket hit the floor, a robotic and rubber-tipped fingered, fully articulated arm sprouted from the ceiling and picked it up. The baby froze and silenced, and watched with wide eyes as the arm neared and replaced the blanket over top of his tiny frame. At first, he was too afraid to move, and stayed petrified as the hand adjusted the sheet to perfection, and hovered over him. Then he pouted, glared at the blanket, grabbed it, and threw it off of him again. He observed as the hand fetched and rearranged it once again.

Bernard paused, looked at the hand, at the blanket, and then at the hand again. And then he flung the blanket again. And then the arm retrieved it again. And then it turned into a game.

The arm and the child repeated this routine about ten times before Bernard pretended to throw the blanket, and then held it to his chest, eyes expectant. As predicted, the arm went off to get it from the floor, only to find it wasn't there. It returned to hover over him, and waggled a rubber finger at him in a 'no-no-no' fashion, as if it were saying, "No playing tricks on the arm!" Bernard just gurgled spit bubbles and cuddled his blanky closer.

After clasping and unclasping the air for a moment, the arm disappeared back into the ceiling. When it returned, it brought a partner. In one hand was a baby bottle of formula, and the other was napkin. These arms fed, bathed, and acted as Bernard's care providers for the duration of the space voyage to the blue ones.

* * *

><p>It was on the seventh day a stray meteoroid collided with Bernard's shuttle and changed the direction he was headed. Even though it was only a small shove, it meant he was now off course, and would most likely zoom past the blue planet he was aiming for. The shuttle's computer conscious seemed to realize this, too, for in that moment the two arms flailed nervously, tapped their fingers together, and finally seemed to accept the fact and hung limp in hopelessness. Then they twitched back to life and redirected their efforts away from trying to fix an impossible problem, too calming the crying baby in the passenger seat by stroking his soft head and giving him a robotic thumb to suck on. It was an instinct from the computer's programming chip that Freya had installed: to make the infant's time in space as relaxing and comfortable as possible until the infant departed – even if that meant until the infant died of starvation drifting astray in the void.<p>

On the eighth day Bernard reached the desired star system, and a different obstruction entered his shuttles path, the obstruction that saved his life and redirected him towards civilization, even if on a planet different from the originally planned destination. As fate would have it, the obstruction was none other than Roxanne's shuttle, the only other human being spared from Earth's demise. The two shuttles crashed into each other; Roxanne's was forsaken in a field of asteroids, while Bernard's was pushed into a direct path to the third planet of the star system, a large golden celestial mass belted by a dense ring of ice chunks and various other particles.

The shuttle narrowly missed the treacherous belt, only hitting a few wandering shards, and pierced the planet's atmosphere like a bullet, sending ripples through the sky. The arms pinned the baby down by the shoulders as they raced towards the ground, where a jagged mountain waited below. Bernard bawled and howled at the chaos surrounding him.

Suddenly the mountain wasn't a mountain, as it lifted its head and blinked open two red eyes, revealing it to be a creature in disguise. Watching with burgundy orbs, and surprisingly sensitive hidden ears, it looked on with interest at the crying thing falling from the sky, which was coming straight towards its face. It would seem to the beast a blessing from above, a meal fit for an opportunistic hunter as itself. Welcoming, it opened its cavernous mouth – jagged and chiseled as though out of stone – and waited for its food to land. The food passed the peak-beak of the creature's mouth but did not crash in the back of its throat as was expected.

"Not this time, Mountain Trap!" declared a woman, who swooped down from the sky to swipe the rocket from the beast's jaws. She had heard a call of distress that sounded like an infant, and came to the rescue just in time. She almost looked human, besides the bulging muscles that shaped her entire body, and the fact that she was floating away with Bernard's shuttle with impossible speed and strength. The woman didn't know why a baby had fallen from the sky encased in foreign technology, nor did she care; it was an instinct to go to the aid of any baby in trouble. Survival of a species relied on survival of the offspring, and since Bernard sounded like one of her kind, hesitation was not an option.

The mountain trap rumbled in frustration and two smaller mountains to either side of it turned into legs as the giant lifted itself up, showing a smooth white underbelly divided into segments. The segments flipped like panels to black sides, and soon the entire underside of the beast was black. Now that its belly was black, it held itself up as though it was suddenly lighter in weight, and pushing off with its two legs, it floated. With a swish of its ridged tail, it was flying off, giving chase to the third meal it was denied in the past 1,800 hours.

Hearing something, the woman looked back and was surprised to see the mountain trap following her in increasing speed. She in turn tried to speed up, but soon the beast was on her tail, snapping at her with its boulder bite. The grinding of rocks filled the air at the creatures every movement. They weaved and wove through surrounding mountains and peaks, and she dodged its every attack with ease, which only fanned the flame of its anger.

While flying, the woman brought the shuttle down from above her head and looked within, seeing the baby inside. She pealed the door back and grabbed the infant within with one hand, ripping the child from the protective robot hands. She then turned and tossed the spacecraft into the predator's mouth. "Here, eat this, pebbles-for-brains!" The robot hands waved goodbye and Bernard, if possible, cried even louder as the rocket flipped and crashed into the mountain trap's multilayered stalagmite-teeth – killing his mother arms, how he came to know them in his tiny mind.

It grinded metal and glass before deducing what it was chewing was completely lacking in blood and flesh, and then roared in frustration. It rooted itself back to the ground, flipping its belly back to white, and spread its jaws wide. Burgundy eyes burned crimson, and a ball of energy started to form at the back of the beast's throat, glowing brilliantly. The flying woman glanced back to see the mountain trap had stopped, but did a double take at the charging light in its mouth. She took a sharp turn to the right and yelled out, "Death ray!" to anyone within hearing range – which was apparently quiet far.

The mountain trap had been spending a long time baking in the light of the star the planet orbited, soaking up stellar rays of heat and radiation. Once charged, the energy ball in its mouth erupted into a beam and stretched out, reaching beyond the horizon before finally hitting something unseen with a _Swiffoom…POW! _A mushroom cloud rose in the distance. Anything on the ground felt the quaking power of the impact, while anything that was near where it had touched down was dead, notwithstanding the full concentrated power of _Igneefe_. But the mountain trapped missed its target, failed in its revenge, and collapsed in defeat, stored energy wasted.

The woman found a spot and landed, and instantly a buff man was at her side. "There you are! What were you thinking, instigating a mountain trap like that?"

"I was thinking…" She began, looking at the tiny life form she held against her rock-hard bosom, "…a baby needed my help. Look, Huya, he fell from the sky. It's a sign, he was meant for me."

Huya eyed the alien, "Orey, it won't replace the one we lost. Look at it, it looks almost povoiran, but it's not our kind." He poked Bernard in the arm, and a bruise formed when he took his finger away. Bernard began to cry again.

"Careful, he's fragile! I don't think he can even fly…listen, I know he won't replace our own, but…he needs me." She smiled down lovingly at the helpless thing in her arms, already smitten. She made sure to cradle him gently, now that she knew how easily damaged he was. Orey coaxed her pinky finger into his mouth to quiet him, and she worried at how pathetic his suckling was. _Well, breast feeding is out of the question, _she concluded sadly. Her mind was made up, however. "I'm keeping him, Huya."

The man groaned, "Fine, but don't be surprised if he doesn't make it very long. By the looks of it, it'll be hard enough picking him up without breaking his spine. And how on Geoluperia do you expect that mushy thing to survive if he can't even fly?"

Orey fixed Huya with sharp brown eyes, "I'll protect him. You'll see. He didn't come to me just to die before he can walk." She lifted the baby up and gazed into equally brown eyes. "Isn't that right, my little sky child?" She noticed the blanket he was white-knuckling for the first time, it had little symbols on it. She'd find out what they meant later. The fingers on the infant's free hand twitched and he acted as though he was trying to lift his arm, but the gravity of the planet was too strong. His chin tucked down to his neck as the force pulled his head down. Orey lifted his arm up and brought the hand to her face for it to explore. "That's right," Orey said, grinning, "the face of your new mother."


	12. To Survive As You Are

****Just want to take a moment to thank everyone for the reviews! Also, to Larissa Lahn Ann, I really wish you were a member so I could reply to your review directly. I'm happy you're enjoying the story despite your dislike toward chapter 11 and supposedly this chapter. I intentionally steered away from Roxanne at_ Deciemesh_ to create a cliff hanger and too show Bernard's side, I wasn't going to write Bernard's chapters shorter or with less detail than Roxanne's because he is an important character and I enjoy writing him. Details presented in his chapters are crucial. But I know not everyone finds Bernard interesting and I'm glad you still find the story captivating. Don't worry, we're back to Roxanne in Chapter 13 which is already written. Still I hope you give this Chapter a chance :)

**Chapter 12: The Story of the Brown-Eyed Baby Part Two – To Survive As You Are**

Bernard was raised by Orey as though he was her own, and he was loved very much, however, since he wasn't the same species, sometimes things were difficult, like feeding, and bathing, and playing…and most everything else. He was easy to teach and was a fast learner, but as Bernard grew up, they found there were some things other povoiran children did that he simply couldn't do. Flying was one example.

Orey carried Bernard, a young child, to where other parents were gathering their own children to play. There was a wide clearing surrounded by tall thorny vines that made an excellent safe zone. When they arrived, the other children were already meeting each other and flying around in the center. Bernard frowned at the sight; _I'm probably the only kid that was carried here. _Orey set him down and nudged him to go introduce himself. "Go on," She encouraged, "I'm sure one of them is bound to want to play with you."

Bernard slouched and crossed his arms, "No, Mam." He said with a harrumph. "There all up in the air and I'm not."

"It doesn't matter if you can fly or not," She insisted, hoping it was the right thing to do. It was hard to judge what was best for your child when they were so…unique. Yeah, unique was a good word. "Now get out there and say hello! Show'm your biggest smile. You have such a handsome smile."

"But, Mam!"

"Don't 'but, Mam' me, Bernard! Go on! Run around or something – you're a good runner." Orey gave him another push and Bernard was sent running down into the middle whether he wanted too or not. She went away to chat with the other parents who were still around and hadn't gone home.

Bernard skidded to a halt and looked up at the other kids floating above him. They didn't seem to have noticed him yet. His jaw jutted out in a pout. _I can fly too_, he told himself for the millionth time. Many times in the past Bernard had told himself, if he only concentrated on floating really hard, he would float too. So he would try that again now, _and I'll be floating before the other's see me!_ He spread his legs and bent his knees, clenching his fists and scrunching up his face in deep concentration. _Float, float, float, float, float like a cloud. Float, float, float- _

"Are you trying too poop?" Someone asked him from behind and made him fall over in surprise. Bernard turned around and faced the kid, his face hot with embarrassment. "Wha-what? No! I wasn't trying to poop!"

The kid laughed, "That's what it looked like you were doing." He had wide shoulders and golden brown hair that twirled to a sparkly point. He looked at Bernard with grey blue eyes. "What were you doing then?"

Bernard stood up and dusted himself off. "I was trying to fly."

"You can't fly?"

"I can so fly!" Bernard growled, "It-it, it just takes me a while."

The kid brought his hand too his chin thoughtfully and a mischievous grin appeared on his face. He held out his hand, "My name is Yanew, what's yours?"

Bernard held out his own hand and tried not to wince when Yanew slapped it in greeting, the Geoluperian equivalent to a handshake. _Ouch ouch ouch ouch that really hurt! _He screamed in his head. "My name is Bernard," He said aloofly.

"Bernard, huh? That's a weird name," Yanew said, then wrapped an arm around Bernard's shoulders. "Well, you know what I've been told, Bernard? It's easier to float if you're higher off the ground. So what you should do is go stand on that boulder over there and try again…doing that thing you were just doing."

Bernard's eyes grew wide with hope. "You think that will work?" He looked around, squinting, "What boulder where?"

"What are you blind?" Yanew asked in disbelief, "That boulder there!" He gave him a push in the right direction and Bernard had to stop himself from falling over. Eventually he saw the boulder and ran over too it. Yanew started snickering behind his back, _Oh man, this'll be good! _"Hey guys!" He called up to the other children, a laugh in his voice. "Come down here and check this out!"

The others joined him and watched Bernard where he stood on top of the rock. A girl blushed and giggled, "Is he pooping?" The group laughed at the question.

"He said he's trying to fly."

"He can't fly?" A boy asked, astonished, "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know, but I'm about to help him out," Yanew flew over to Bernard and stood on the boulder next to him. "How's the flying thing coming a long?"

"I don't think your idea is working," Bernard said sighing.

"No, no, I think it is working," Yanew insisted with a nod, putting his hands on Bernard's back, "All you need is a little…Push!" Yanew pushed Bernard off of the boulder and Bernard fell hard on his shoulder with an audible _crack_.

Yanew and the others bursted into laughter, until they heard an ear splitting scream escape from Bernard's mouth and had to cover their ears. Yanew looked down at him in confusion and saw Bernard crying hysterically and holding himself in pain. Orey was there in an instant.

She picked him and held him close, "Bernard, Baby, what happened? Are you hurt? Sshhh, Baby, it's okay, Mams here, Mammy's got you." With a little investigation she found Bernard's right collarbone had been perfectly snapped. "Oh, my poor baby! Who did this him, huh? Which one of you?"

Suddenly everyone was pointing fingers at Yanew who stammered guiltily, "I-I didn't mean for him to get hurt," He said, scratching the back of his head, "It was just supposed to be funny."

"No one ever _means_ for someone to get hurt, young man, that's why you don't do things like that in the first place in the chance someone _does_." She spat, "Who is your mother?"

"My parents are the Lord and Lady." Yanew said, looking down at his feet.

_Lord and lady! I can't complain to the higher-ups about their son! _So Orey just fixed him with a stern glare and said, "Well, little royal, I hope you learn something from this." She began to fly away with Bernard still crying against her chest, muttering to herself, "Now how in the world are you supposed to heal a broken collarbone?"

When they made it back to their underground home, Orey fixed Bernard up the best she could. She would take him to an actual doctor, but the last time she did that the doctors simply made things worse because they weren't used to working on such a fragile patient. Eventually Bernard stopped wailing and settled down to a sniffle. "I'm a freak," he said with a slight sob, "What kind of povoiran can't fly?"

Orey tried to rub his back soothingly, "You're not a freak," she said softly, "You're just different."

"Different in a bad way," He grumbled in reply.

"And honey, you know, we're not even sure if you're povoiran at all. Remember when I told you that you came to me as a gift from the sky?"

"But I look povoiran. If that's not what I am, Mam, then what am I?"

She looked down at him sadly and brought him into a delicate hug, "I don't know, Sweetie."

Things never stopped Bernard from trying his hardest to fit in, in his own different way. Some things he simply accepted, however, like the fact he'd never develop laser vision or no matter how much he exercised by lifting weights or doing pushups, he'd never be as strong and muscular as the others. Flying was something he would not give up on, though.

"Come on you stupid contraption, start already!" Bernard, now 17 years old by Earth standards, yelled at the bulky thing on his back. He gripped the handles again and squeezed, but his made-from-scratch jetpack still only puttered at him. He growled and cursed at it some more.

Up high in the sky, a group of povoirans watched and snickered as they flew together watching him struggle. "Looks like Softy is at it again." One of them said, a girl with jet black hair said. A boy with reddish brown hair joined in. "Haha, this ought to be good. Hey, Tiny!" He shouted down, cupping his hands to his mouth. "Leave flying to the naturals and stay on the ground where you belong!"

Bernard glared up at them through home-made glasses with hatred filled brown eyes, "Shut up, muscle-heads! I'm trying to focus on something here _other_ than lifting boulders, you should try it sometime!" He squeezed the controls again, but the engines only wheezed smoke at him.

The group laughed even harder, except for one. He had the broadest chest of them all, and the biggest chin at that. His dark brown, almost black hair rested on his head in a nearly perfect swirl, and his steel blue eyes watched Bernard with sympathy. "Hey, give'm a break you guys. He's just trying to fit in a bit."

"Creatures who are grounded should stay grounded, that's all I'm say'n. If Four-Eyes doesn't want to take good advice, then that's his problem. Besides, no one wants to share the sky with that accident waiting to happen." He jerked his thumb towards where Bernard was still willing his jetpack to turn on by punching it. "You remember what happened the last time he flew with that thing, don't you Yanew?" The boy smirked at the memory and chuckled, "You know, on second thought, I wouldn't mind seeing that again."

"Shut your mouth, Arue." Yanew replied without any real heat behind his words. Yanew had refrained from teasing Bernard ever since his first prank went too far, and stuck to defending him instead. If he did tease him, it was only ever in good humor. The girl at Arue's side was about to say something again when suddenly they all heard a _ka-thunk_ and Bernard say, "Uh-oh." They all turned their heads back towards the guy on the ground in time to see the jetpack on his back erupt in full power, then watch him fly by out of control.

"…..!"

Yanew sighed, "I'll get'm" he told no one in particular, knowing no one else was going to go after Bernard. Arue elbowed the girl next to him and teased, "Hey look, Ryna, Yanew's going to go after his pet."

He ignored them and sped up his flying until he was beside Bernard, who was soaring perfectly horizontal to the ground. "Need some help, little buddy?"

Bernard's hair, which was usually rising off of his head like a dark flame, was flatted by the velocity. He was twisting knobs and pressing buttons franticly, "I've got everything under control," He lied.

Yanew gave him an unconvinced look, "It looks like you need help."

"I said I'm fine," Bernard insisted, ignoring him. The flames coming out of the jetpack's engines flared wildly, and a clicking nose started from deep within.

"It sounds like it's going to blow up," Yanew said over the pack's roaring.

"It's not going to blow up!" The clicks turned into bangs.

"That's what it sounded like the last time,"

"Well, this isn't last time is it, Yanew?" Bernard punched at one of the engines again and the flames started stuttering, causing him to do barrel-rolls for a few seconds before going straight again.

"I think you need help," Yanew insisted coolly.

"I don't need your help!"

Then the body of the jetpack caught on fire and the entire thing started to glow in the growing heat. Bernard groaned.

Yanew looked at the pack and at Bernard's face. "It's going to blow up, isn't it?"

"Yep."

Bernard detached himself from the jetpack and Yanew caught him by the wrists. The thing spun out of control and Bernard watched it race farther away until it was over one of the many water pits that were scattered throughout the area. His face was fallen and grumpy. "That'll be quite a few repairs once it crashes," he commented to himself. Then a giant serpent jumped out of the water and caught it in his mouth, diving back into the next nearby pit of water like a worm tunneling in and out of a rotten fruit.

"Looks to me it's back to the drawing board for you," Yanew said with a laugh. Bernard grumbled in reply. "What version was that, version seven?"

"Ten." Bernard said, dangling limply from Yanew's hands. Even from this far away and with his weak hearing, Bernard could hear the group of others laughing hysterically behind them. "Hey, Hard-Head, get flying or we'll be late to survival academy." He ordered.

"You got it, lil'buddy." Yanew said with a chuckle and started moving again. After a moment he started talking again. "It's a good thing it didn't blow up while still on your back like last time."

"Sometimes I wish you'd just let me fall to my death." Bernard droned.

"It's not so bad, Bernard. Now you can try again. And hey, at least I didn't crush your wrists when I caught you this time."

"Yeah, at least there's that." He agreed with fake optimism.

Needless to say, Bernard and Yanew were the last to arrive at the academy, which was a large structure set atop a tall mountain, away from any aggressive surface dwellers. The only way to get there was to fly, or travel by jetpack if you had a jetpack that worked. While everyone else flew up there at high speeds, Yanew had to slow down while carrying Bernard, or risk his friend's skin peeling in the wind. It was a good thing Yanew seemed to have been born with endless patience.

Survival academy wasn't your conventional learning environment, at least not by other planet's standards. On Geoluperia, the atmosphere was thick, creating hot temperatures and boiling oceans. Storms were frequent, and the planet rotated slowly, making the days on Geoluperia as long as two years on Earth. Long days meant long hot hours of exposure to the sun, or endless periods of cold moonless darkness. The dense, orbiting belt of ice and rock hurled meteorites down to the planet's surface on a regular basis – rain in the form of stones or acid was more frequent than rain in the form of water. Drinkable H2O was a rarity when your planet was only 55% water. With such harsh living conditions came equally harsh animals. Life forms on Geoluperia were usually found in the form of giants, or small creatures that lived in groups and relied on population for protection. Eat or be eaten was a rule shared by both animals and plants. Vegetation here was always either carnivorous or covered in spikes, scales, poison, stench, or camouflage. On a world of heavy gravity filled with impressive beasts and impossible terrains, learning how to live in your habitat came before learning such things as math and science – that was secondary learning. Povoirans were the dominate species on the planet, but even they had to struggle to survive in their world. Thus, Survival academy was developed.

Practically from birth, povoirans had to be trained in the ways of survival, beginning with being taught by their parents, and later attending the academy. Today, Bernard's division was being taught how not to be sucked into the vortex caused by sudden canyons created by violent groundquakes. It was groundquake season after all, and the ever-changing surface of the planet was even more ever-changing.

"You have to detect the quake before it happens," The instructor, a huge, scarred man with cropped white hair and grey stubble, instructed, "and make sure that you're flying high enough to avoid the suction of the vortex, or can distance yourself from the crevice in time. If you _do_ get caught in the vortex, the currents are often so powerful the only way to escape being sucked in is to use super speed. And what have you been told about using super speed?"

"Super speed is only to be used in ultimate emergencies." Everyone said in unison.

"That is correct. For as we have seen from other's foolishness, abusing by overusing this ability will unavoidably add up to a quicker demise. It not only makes you move faster, but momentarily, you age faster as well. By casually using super speed, you are clearly asking for death to come to you sooner! This must never be forgotten."

"Sir, yes, Sir," replied the group of povoirans. Everyone was lined up facing the instructor, floating a few inches above the floor, everyone, that was except for Bernard and Yanew who were standing.

Bernard glared at Yanew in annoyance, "Would you cut that out?" He whispered.

"Cut what out?" Yanew asked, mocking innocence.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Bernard hissed, "Quit standing like that!"

"I just felt like standing for a change to see what just standing felt like."

"No one _just stands_, Yanew. You're standing because I can't float, and I wish you'd cut it out."

"Hey, Anchor-Feet, have you been listening to a thing I've just said!" The instructor snarled suddenly. Bernard straightened up and looked forward again, "Sir, no, Sir" He replied back.

"You may be hard of hearing, Small-Fry, but my ears work just fine. Tell me, Short-Stuff, how does whispering during a lecture help prepare you for the dangers of our environment?"

"It doesn't, Sir."

"Then tell me this, Glass-for-bones, are you a survivor or a fatality?"

"I'm a survivor, Sir!"

"Hah! That's the funniest thing I've ever heard come out of your wimpy mouth, Paper-skin! You're not a _survivor_, see, you're a _snack_!" The instructor jabbed Bernard in between the eyes and he held back a sigh when he heard his glasses crack. The instructor continued, "So what I'm suggesting to you right now, Squinty, is that you learn as much as possible and live as long as you can, get yourself some talent, or go find the nearest giant mouth and crawl in it. Am I making myself clear, Skinny?"

"Sir, yes, Sir!"

"Good to know." The instructor then looked at Yanew and arched an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong with your feet, survivor?"

"I just felt like standing, Sir."

The instructor made a face. "Well, cut it out. No one just feels like standing…it's weird."

"Sir, yes, Sir," Yanew said, and started floating.

The instructor went back to the front of the room to address everyone. "Now, let's get this session back in order. A few of you may already be aware that one of our longest standing traditions is coming around again. _Deciemesh _will begin when _Igneefe_ is three degrees closer to the horizon in our sky. I have just been sent a list of those of you who have been chosen to take part in this glorious event. Only the ones decided to be the most mature, none-impulsive, respectable and responsible will have been picked from this academy to participate. So listen up and see if your name is called – that means you too, Half-Deaf!" He ordered, looking pointedly at Bernard, who tried not to roll his eyes.

A few names into the list, the instructor was shocked to see Bernard was one of them. "What! Scrawny, unless my eyes fail me, it looks like you've been chosen to go to Caelumar!" He started to chuckle, "I can't imagine why you would have been picked besides the fact that you're no more dangerous than a pebble. Good for you, Twiggy!" He finished off the names, also calling Yanew as one of the chosen, and dismissed the rest of the group. Now only the chosen remained in front of the instructor.

He put his feet to the floor and paced in front of them. "Tell me, survivors, why is it we float instead of stand?"

"It is to improve our ability to stay off of the ground for periods of time." Someone from the line answered.

"That is correct. Most of you can still remember a time when it was a challenge to stay afloat for more than ten seconds. Some of us still have that problem," Bernard grinded his teeth, and the instructor continued. "Even now I sometimes catch myself feeling heavy when I'm in the sky. When you are on Caelumar, however, you will feel completely different! You'll feel lighter than air on that planet; it'll be hard to resist flying around like a lunatic. It'll be hard to resist doing a lot of things." He gave all of them a meaningful stare, "All of you have been chosen because of your excellent discipline and obedience. Our superiors have dubbed you all as the best our planet has to offer, and we trust you will act as such."

"Sir, yes, Sir."

"The most important thing to remember is to be respectful and open minded while visiting the scirian's home. You must remember that you are _honored_ to have the _privilege_ of being chosen for this _educational_ experience and to have such an _intelligent_ and _generous _species willing to host this symbolic custom. _Deciemesh _is a symbol of the long standing peace between Caelumar and Geoluperia. Someone recite to me the 5th statement in our code of beliefs."

Yanew cleared his throat and spoke clearly, "Respect and Understanding between species equals peace and peace is ideal. Peace will result in the cooperation and betterment of all involved and is a utopian concept."

"Very good. Now all of you pay attention while I relay to you what you should expect while on our neighbor's world. This should be a good experience for you, Lanky, you'll fit in a lot better in scirian society."

_Great skies! _Bernard yelled in his mind, _does this man ever run out of nicknames?_

* * *

><p>Bernard stared at the golden sky. The belt orbiting the planet was visible though the clouds and the light reflecting off of its ice particles gave the sky a glittering stripe. It was almost blinding, and Bernard briefly realized he was just damaging his poor eye sight even more, but he really didn't care. He was lying back with his hands behind his head, riding on Yanew's back as if he were a magic carpet and using Yanew's head for a pillow. Yanew was flying him home, again, as usual. He signed.<p>

"What's the matter?" Yanew asked without moving his head "Aren't you excited about being chosen for _Deciemesh_?"

He shrugged against Yanew's shoulders. "I suppose."

"I'm excited," Yanew went on. "I'm glad my name was called."

"Of course your name was called," Bernard said with a sneer, "You're the son of the Lord and Lady, Yanew, it would have been a shock if your name _hadn't_ been called."

It was Yanew's turn to shrug, making Bernard slide down his back. "Sometimes I like to believe things happen to me because of who I am, not because of who my parents are."

"Whatever." Bernard replied after readjusting himself with some annoyance. "I guess I'm a little excited to meet people who are small and weak like I am. A little. Though, I was probably just chosen because people will be happy to be rid of me for a while." He was actually very excited about it; he just didn't like to show emotion around others. Yanew could tell he was excited because every time Bernard thought about it he could hear his heart beat quicken, not that he would mention it. He just chuckled, which elicited another sign from Bernard.

When Bernard was finally home he told Orey about how he was chosen to go to Caelumar. She was positively ecstatic, and went on and on about how she knew he was special and what a great experience it would be for him and how much she loved him and would miss him and how she wished she had been chosen when she was young. Huya didn't really have a reaction to the news, but Bernard guessed he was happy he was leaving.

The day of departure snuck up on everyone, and all of the chosen suddenly found themselves being ushered into a huge shuttle that seemed to touch the sky. It was perfectly golden with nary a scratch or dent to be seen, made out of a seemingly indestructible material only povoirans knew how to forge, and was build in the shape of an egg. Portholes dotted the shell of the egg like eyeballs, peering out in all directions. The glass was thick but perfectly transparent. Like a blooming flower, the bottom of the egg opened up and out emerged the engines. Ignition happened, and then they were shooting through the thick atmosphere with a tail so hot, the flame was pure white. The ship cleverly maneuvered around the planets belt and the space between the two planets was quickly occupied by a swarm of golden eggs.

Inside of the egg-shaped ship, everything was perfectly white and cushiony. Bernard made a face at it all and said, "Gee, do you think they make the interior of these things comfortable enough? We're only going to be traveling for about 24 hours. You'd think we were going to be gone for half a day,"

"Half a day on Geoluperia is one year on Caelumar," Yanew said walking over to a porthole to view space, something he was not able to do from the surface of his planet. The atmosphere was too thick, even on the dark side of the globe and with super vision the only light to be seen was the glittering ice of the belt. "I'm excited about that. It's going to feel weird with the sky constantly changing from night to day. Hey, have you seen this yet? Space is pretty awesome."

"How could I, when your big fat head is in the way? Move over, lummox."

Bernard made his way over to the porthole and adjusted his pathetic excuse for glasses before peering out into the abyss. He knew what he would see, he had seen it all before in pictures. Of course, it was different seeing space first person, but it didn't arouse within him awe and wonder like it did for Yanew. It just made him depressed. _Out all of those galaxies, and all of those start systems, and all of those planets, am I really the only one like me? Is there a group of my people out there, searching for me, or am I really one of a kind?_ His forehead hit the glass and he just stood there like that.

Yanew rubbed Bernard's back awkwardly and gave him a few pats before backing off. "I'll just leave you to your thoughts, then." He recognized the face Bernard was wearing; it was his 'My mind is somewhere else' face, and he had an idea about what he was thinking. It was best to let him be.

Bernard spent the rest of the trip at the window.


	13. The Only One, No More

****This is the last Chapter I have pre-written, so I'm posting it now to maybe motivate myself into working on chapter 14, which I can already tell is going to be a pain in the butt to write. Wish me luck, haha. Enjoy Chapter 13. We return to Roxanne :)

**Chapter 13: The Only One, No More**

Everyone went silent when the two humans saw each other for the first time; the interaction was insanely interesting to everyone because before this moment, it was believed there was only one human in existence. The crowd held their breaths with extreme seriousness, treating the occurrence like one which would be talked about for ages to come – a historical event that would only happen once and they were privileged to be witnesses.

At first there was just a lot of standing and blinking and slacked jaws. Then, as if by some unspoken but mutual decision from both sides, Roxanne and Bernard began to walk towards each other with slow, careful steps. They both felt as if they were in a dream, and if they walked any faster, they would wake up in a world where they were the only one of their kind. They mirrored each other's actions perfectly, raising a hand and stretching it forward to touch what could only be an illusion.

Their figure tips met. Roxanne gave a small breathy sob, "You're real." Her eyes never left his face.

Bernard swallowed thickly. "Hoyew teya li royotos," he whispered in a native language of his planet. Roxanne's brows furrowed and she was slow to realize he was talking in the _Wayarian_ language. She had learned how to speak _Wayarian_ in shool; language was one of the few classes she actually excelled in. A long with _Megarish_, a language of the scirians and her native tongue, she was fluent in _Wayarian_, English, and had started to teach herself Spanish. She switched to _Wayarian_ mode, and asked him to repeat himself, please, "Raddá raddá, eslepa?"

Bernard pressed his hand fully into hers with new excitement now that he knew they could actually

Communicate. He repeated himself louder, and Roxanne translated in her mind as he enunciated clearly, "You have the skin spots."

She had to think about that for a moment before replying. _Skin spots…?_ "Skin spots! Freckles? You have freckles?"

He smiled widely, eyes more than slightly glassy. "Freckles? Is that what they're called?" He took his hand away to roll up the sleeve of the suit he was wearing. He revealed an arm with dense, stringy muscles, but it was what was on his skin which made Roxanne smile. They were few and far between, not nearly as many as on Roxanne's face and shoulders, but they were darker and undeniably there – freckles. "Povoirans don't get freckles!"

Roxanne's smile became consuming, "Neither do scirians!" She reached out to touch his arm and pressed her free hand to her mouth to suppress her giggles. "Hair- you have hair on your body. Scirians only grow hair on their face."

"Oh yes, and on my head too! The hair on my head is soft – is your hair soft? – Povoirans have course hair – can I feel your hair?" He took the hand she had rested on his arm and placed it on his golden waves of hair, and she allowed him to explore her own hair. "Wow." They said at the same time.

Bernard's hand ended up traveling down her face and neck. "You're skin is soft too. And squishy."

Roxanne's hand remained obsessing over Bernard's scalp, "You're head is small like mine."

Their hands came to rest on each other's shoulders. Overcome by joy, they brought one another into a tight embrace. Roxanne's eyes started to leak, "We're the same."

"I thought I was the only one. I thought – I thought I was the only one like me." He hugged her tighter and tighter until she didn't think she could breath, but she could care less. She burrowed her face into the crook of his neck and wept.

Back over by the crowd, Nigmadem watched on with a storm of emotion thundering in his chest. He should feel happy for her; he should feel _so_ happy for her right now. Roxanne found another human like her. She wasn't the last of her species after all. She must feel so relieved right now, to know she's not truly alone in the universe. Yet for some reason, seeing Roxanne hug this male human without any inhibitions whatsoever made his chest tighten and stomach churn.

"Isn't it wonderful, sir?" Minion said, wiping a pretend tear from his glass dome, "Roxanne found another human! What are the odds there would be another human on Geoluperia, and that they would come here on _Deciemesh_? It must be destiny, eh, Sir?"

"The odds are exponential, Minion, with far too many variables to calculate in one minute, I'd need at least three minutes to calculate an estimation in my head. But…I'm not in the mood to figure that one out."

Minion stared at his master curiously. "Not in the mood? Since when are you not in the mood to do mental math? That's like one of your top ten favorite things to do! Or was it one of your top fifteen? Oh, well, it's one of your tops anyway. What's wrong?"

"There is nothing wrong Minion," He said, crossing his arms. "Now excuse me, I'm going to go retrieve Abraham. Roxanne's too distracted to realize he's fainted."

He walked to where Roxanne was pushed out by Vivinie and picked up the teddy bear, who was still frozen and ridged with blue eyes. He wondered what caused the robot to malfunction so badly. _Oh well, _he thought and shrugged, _should be an easy fix. _Nigmadem tucked the bear under his arm, and looked around at everyone still ogling Roxanne's moment. He'd be happier if they had more privacy, all of these on lookers made him feel weird. Then he noticed the way The Minds were looking at her.

The Minds were sent to represent the best of the planet and scirian society – they were the most logical and intelligent the world had to offer and so were assigned to govern and organize the people by the Masterminds. The Masterminds were four scirians that acted as kings and queens in their own way, each from the four hemispheres of the globe. The Minds wore shimmering black capes and tall arching collars that curved around their large heads like spoons. Their clothes pulsated with strips of glowing white. But the thing Nigma was noticing about them was their glare – their glare which was directed toward the only two humans around. He heard his knuckles pop as his hands formed fists at his sides; he glared back at the spoon-heads even though they had no idea he was even looking at them. _What reason do they have for looking at them that way?_ Then he saw them turn to speak to one another, never taking their eyes away from the humans.

_What are they saying? _He tried to read their lips, but they were talking really fast, he could only make about a few of the words they were saying – "_…impossible…the probability of…how old they are…our noses…to be done…" _He groaned; he couldn't get a clue as to what they were going on about. All he knew is that they were upset about something, and it didn't sit well with him, it left him with a bad premonition.

After a while, The Minds put the event back in order. The welcome ceremony had been completely interrupted by the meeting of the humans, and after Roxanne and Bernard were finally separated, things picked up where they left off. Both Roxanne and Bernard were reluctant to let go of each other and practically had to be ripped apart – luckily they separated without povoiran assistance. Roxanne trembled as she stood next to Nigma at the front of the crowd. She was the unresponsive to everything he said or did to her, and he began to wonder if it was all just too much for her to handle.

Yanew stared at Bernard who was standing next to him, clasping and unclasping his hands, his stare never wandered away from Roxanne where she stood in the crowd. He couldn't concentrate on The Minds as they welcomed them all to Caelumar and hoped they would enjoy the learning opportunity they were honored to have. They went on and on about how they were encouraged to make friends and have fun so long as they refrained from using their natural abilities in ways that could be destructive – which meant no practicing such things as super strength or laser vision. They mentioned something about a tour and protocol and organization and there staying arrangements, and a whole bunch of other things they had already been briefed about on their home planet. He was only half listening.

"Bernard. Psst, Bernard." _Come on now, I'm whispering loud enough for his weak ears to pick up. _"Psst…! Bernard…! Little buddy, you okay?" Still he didn't react. Bernard's mind was too busy reeling to worry about any kind of activity outside of his own skull.

He had so many questions for the girl like him beginning with what her name was. Both were too invested in finding all the different ways they looked the same to think about things like names. He wanted to ask her if there were any others like them on this planet but she was just as surprised to see him as he was her, he guessed she was the only other one of their kind here. Did she know what their species was called? She knew about freckles, what else could he learn from her?

His thoughts were halted when something hard hit him in the shoulder. He turned to see Yanew had walked into him with his chest. "We're heading out to our living quarters, snap out of it and get moving!" Yanew hissed, giving him a restrained shove forward. Bernard started walking forward, but kept looking back to where the girl was. "You'll see her again, I promise, Bernard. We're just settling in."

"Wha-wha-where are they taking him? Where is he going?" Roxanne asked in a shaky voice. Nigmadem jumped, it was the first thing Roxanne had said since she came back to stand next to him. Her blue eyes were wide and she looked like she was ready to race after the human male. Nigma put a hand on her shoulder in case she actually decided to sprint – she was still trembling he noticed. "Roxanne, calm down. It's okay. Their just settling in, you'll see him again. You trust me?"

She swallowed dryly and nodded, but still wasn't looking his way. That wasn't good enough for him. He waved a blue hand in her face and snapped a few times, and finally resorted to grabbing her chin and turning her head himself. He waited for her to look him in the eyes. "Hey, I said do you trust me?" Roxanne met his green gaze for a moment, and nodded again, more confidently this time. "Yeah? Good. Then you'll trust me when I say you'll see him again, right?" She nodded again. "Good. Now let me walk you home."

Roxanne nodded a few times more like it was the only thing she knew how to do, and said, "Yes, um, good idea…" Nigma offered his hand and she accepted it, taking it weakly with her own. Minion lead the way through the thinning crowd while Nigma and Roxanne followed from behind, Nigma was relieved she was starting to get her wits back.

"Roxy!" Roxanne stiffened and Nigmadem turned to see Vivinie approaching with her followers, he noticed Felleta as one of them - Or, 'Felleta the fragile' as Roxanne had called her. Felleta kept looking back and forth from Roxanne and Vivinie and acting like she didn't want to be there. Vivinie just continued to smile and talk. "Oh, Roxy, that was beautiful. Simply beautiful; nearly brought a tear to my violet eyes. I can only imagine how you must be feeling right now."

Felleta tried to speak up then. "Excuse me, Vivinie…I think we should give her some space for a whi –"

"Felleta, what did I tell you about mumbling? It's so unbecoming." Vivinie cut her off, pretending not to hear, "Now, like I was saying –"

It was Nigmadem's turn to interject, "Yes, you were saying you could imagine now she felt. So you can imagine how Roxanne might want to be left alone to her thoughts for a while. Or did you forget she was able to think again?" The friendliness of his tone made it that much more aggressive sounding.

Vivinie stammered at him, and then smiled again. "But of course, Nigmadem. Those were my thoughts exactly." She addressed the back of Roxanne's head. "Have a peaceful rest of the day, Roxanne, and happy thinking." She waved good bye and headed in her own direction, Felleta followed with an apologetic glance back at Nigma and Roxanne. Nigma gave Felleta a quick smile of gratitude, her attempt at talking not going unnoticed by him.

When Nigma turned back to Roxanne he found her face was troubled and the hand he wasn't holding was balled up. He looked at her questioningly and she answered his question before he started to ask. "I don't like how nice she's being to me. It's not normal. It's…it's suspicious."

"You think so?" He asked, tilting his head. "You don't want her to be nice to you?"

She shook her smaller head, "At one point in time I wanted to be friends with her. I would still like her to be nice to me, but…not this kind of nice. I don't know. Something is off about it."

"There's something off about a lot of things." He mused, thinking back to how The Minds had looked at her. He decided not to mention it though. She had enough on her mind as it was. With a gentle tug at her hand, he reinitiated their walking. Minion, who had been watching the entire interaction closely, took the lead once more.

The journey back to the croscalator was silent, and when they crossed the street-which was busier than ever- Nigmadem realized he didn't know where Roxanne's home was. She unconsciously began to lead them to where she lived, her guiding him by his hand rather than vice versa. Minion made his way to the back and followed from behind. Nigma wasn't sure she even realized she was taking them to her place, her eyes were unfocused again and she seemed to be running on autopilot. Looking ahead and seeing the direction she was walking in, he figured out with a little bit of surprise what their destination was. "You live at the Life Center?" He asked as he stared at the place where all kinds of animals and life forms were placed in their own exhibits. _My life, I hope she isn't on display!_

Roxanne started and finally remembered he and Minion were still there. "Um, y-yes – Yes, this is where I've lived since infanthood." She said as Nigmadem started walking them toward the front entrance. The employees stationed there gave the group odd looks. "No, Nigma," She corrected with a small smile, "I don't go in that way. I live in the building to the side."

"Oh." He said, and then smiled, still looking at the front entrance. "Well, we should walk through there together sometime and look at the animals. Not that there isn't anything you haven't seen already, since you live here and all…" Nigma trailed off near the end lamely. Roxanne just giggled and her smile grew, "Well, I'm sure it will be a new experience to have someone to look around with."

When he brightened, Roxanne started to walk them toward the door to the apartment she stayed in with Nannarry. They slowed when they neared the door, and Roxanne turned to Nigma with warm eyes. "Thanks for walking me home." She said.

"You're welcome." When her eyes moved down to his arm, he remembered Abraham who he was still holding to his side. "Oh, right!" He handed her the frozen robot, "I picked him up for you when…you know. He seemed to have feinted or something. I could fix him for you. If you need help, that is." He added the last part quickly.

She took the teddy bear and studied him with calculating eyes, "That's okay, I can fix him. This wouldn't be the first time he's glitched." _And I have a few questions for him when he wakes up._ She tucked him under her arm and fiddled with the key-band around her wrist which would make the door open automatically for her. "So, good bye then, Nigmadem. Good bye, Minion."

"Good bye, Ms. Ritchi!"

"See you soon, Roxanne."

They watched the door slide back and forth and her disappear behind it.

Nigma stared at it for a moment and signed. Just as he was about to turn around and start heading away, he heard someone's angry voice from beyond the door. He met Minion's eyes and they share a look. And then Nigma took a step backward toward the door.

"Sir, you wouldn't." Minion admonished in a whisper.

Nigmadem took another step toward the door.

"Sir…! Sir, please, it wouldn't be right." The fish persisted fretfully.

Nigma made it back to the door and pressed his ear against it. It didn't open for him because he didn't have a key-band for it. He heard Minion groan and tap his metal fingers together, and then the fish gave into temptation and walked closer to join him in ease dropping.

"_I thought I told you to stick to the back of the crowd." _Nigma thought the voice must have belonged to Roxanne's mother- err, guardian.

"_I did, but –"_ He heard Roxanne try to speak.

"_Then why was your face broadcasted for everyone to see?"_

"_I didn't want to go to the front, I was forced –"_

"_This isn't good. This is not good." _

"_Nothing bad is going to happen!"_

"_This is awful, is what it is. It's horrible."_

"_Don't even mention the fact that I met another human."_

"_And he'll be in trouble too! I knew I should have made you stay here. And that boy should have stayed on Geoluperia!"_

"_How can you say that? What do you think is going to happen?"_

"_I'm not sure…but something – something is going to happen. So many people saw you, if – hey, where are you going? Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you. Ritchi? Ritchi!"_

Nigmadem and Minion heard the sound of footsteps going fainter as they became more distant, and the older woman's complains died off into a fit of violent coughs. The pair straightened up, looked at each other, and started walking away, whistling nonchalantly with their hands clasped behind their backs.

Roxanne walked away from Nannarry's paranoid ramblings and escaped to her room. She had a lot on her mind and had heard enough, and so chose to end the one-sided conversation early. After leaning on the door for a moment to relax, she went to sit on her bed and laid Abraham down in front of her flat on his back. His body was still ridged and his eyes were still a flat blue.

She knew how to fix him. When Abraham glitched like this the first time a few years back, she did a little research about him on her Earth Encyclopedia. She learned that Abraham was one of many teddy bears made by a franchise called F.B.B, Forever Buddy Bears. F.B.B's were robotic toys programmed to be a playmate for children. They came in all colors and were very popular back before the sun died. Abraham had simply been altered so that instead of being a playmate, he was programmed to be something like a parent or guardian. F.B.B's were known to freeze up when they thought about something too hard and couldn't figure it out, or thought about too many things at once. She supposed the trait had stayed with Abraham even after his alterations.

Roxanne rubbed her fingers over his tattered nose lightly for a moment before pressing down really hard on it with her middle finger. "Come on stupid button, budge…" She growled at the stubborn thing. Eventually, after some flustered stabbings with her fingers, something underneath his nose gave in with a 'click!'

Sighing, she sat back to watch him reboot. The robot's eyes flashed a few times before staying black and his arms and legs gyrated as his programming restarted. It was the same thing each time – flash, flex, and wake up. His eyes restored there usually glimmer of life when he finally regained consciousness. Abraham sat up, looked around, and then looked at Roxanne. "We have returned to your bedroom, Ms. Ritchi." He observed.

"That's right. The povoirans went off to settle in after being welcomed to the planet. But you missed all of that. Tell me, what is the last thing you remember?"

"You and I were taken to the front of the crowd."

"And after that?"

"I malfunctioned again, Ms. Ritchi."

"And why did you malfunction, Abraham?"

"I remembered."

"What did you remember?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"I remembered it when I saw the other human with the povoirans."

"I didn't ask when, I asked what. What did you remember Abraham?" She bent down until she was eye level with him. "When you spotted the other human, you said you restored a memory about a brown eyed infant. What does that mean?"

Abraham's intuition told him he was in trouble. "I remembered one of the days when you and I were traveling to his planet. Another earth rocket crashed into ours. Within the rocket was another earthling. It was that rocket which caused ours to become stranded in the asteroid field."

"Robots don't just forget things like that, Abraham. You erased that memory." She accused, poking him in the head. "Why did you erase that?"

"According to my calculations at the time, there was a 90% likeliness the other infant would perish. I erased the memory so as not to hurt you. The infant was supposed to die, Ms. Ritchi."

"I don't believe this." Roxanne said holding her head in her hands. She got up to pace. "All of this time I thought I was the last human. All of this time. And you knew all along that wasn't true. All of this time _wasted _when another human was only on _the next planet over. _Ridiculous."

"I was only trying to protect you, Ms. Ritchi." He added quietly.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I know now. But, Abraham? The next time you see something as important as that, and you feel the need to delete it for _my sake._" She turned to glare at him, "how about you _don't_."


	14. Expectations

I posted Chapter 13 in the beginning of February, and I'm posting Chapter 14 at the end of March. My goodness! Sorry for the long wait, those of you who read this. I've been busy though, so can't really blame me. Plus, in two days I'll be hop'n on a plane to Spain for 10 days, I'm super excited! I'll have internet while I'm there, but I'm not sure how active I'll be (I'll probably be too tired from walking all day to do anything but sleep. Plus I'll have AP Spanish homework to work on too...pooh.) Okay, enough jibber-jabber. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Things are about to get real. 3,909 words.

**Chapter 14: Expectations**

"So they really treat you that way here too, huh? As an outsider?" Bernard asked as he sat next to Roxanne on a bench in the city's center, and Abraham stood as the ever silent sentry upon her shoulder. The povoirian ship lay dormant ahead of them as they talked.

"Yes. Most of them do, anyway. They'll treat you the same way, too, if you try to mingle. It doesn't matter how alike you are to them, they only see what is different." Roxanne replied, slightly amused. She had already had this conversation with Bernard more than once, yet he still had trouble believing it.

He grunted and ran his fingers through his hair, "That's completely ridiculous. And I was so sure I'd fit in with these people better than with povoirians. What if they knew I made my own jetpack?" He wondered suddenly. "Would they be more hospitable then?"

"As if! Making jetpacks and lasers is something Scirian infants do for fun. Believe me, they won't be impressed."

"You know when they first saw me I thought they were excited to find another intelligent life form to learn from. Then I wondered if they were going to experiment on me. And then you appeared." Bernard sighed and rested his chin on folded hands. Ever since he landed here a week and a half ago, he and Roxanne had been meeting together every afternoon to learn from one another. They had become increasingly close to one another. He looked at her straight faced without turning and said, "Well, that's one good thing about this trip. I got too meet you."

Roxanne smiled and brushed away some of her shortened hair. "Yeah. So, do you want to look at the Earth Encyclopedia again?"

"Absolutely."

She brought out the E.E and activated it. He swiftly took it from her, preferring to navigate the handheld on his own. "What are you going to look up this time?" She asked.

"Books."

"Again?" Roxanne laughed and smirked, peering at the screen over his shoulder. "You know there was more to Earth than just books."

"Yes, I know. But they're fascinating. I've learned enough about the rest of Earth for now; I want to learn more about books again. The rest of the Earth can come after"

"Books are fascinating, hmm? That sounds familiar." She said smiling, thinking of Nigmadem. She subconsciously tucked some hair behind her ears.

"I wish there was a library on Geoluperia. We have something sorta similar, but not really. The povoirians aren't exactly skilled in documentation." Bernard sighed.

"That's a shame," She noticed he was squinting through the odd looking spectacles on his face and said, "You know, you could have your eyesight fixed here pretty easily, if you wanted too."

"No thanks, I don't need anyone bringing knives and lasers near my face. But maybe I'll have someone redesign these glasses for me." He murmured in response and then went quiet, getting lost in learning.

Roxanne shrugged and, stretching her back against the bench, noticed the darkening sky. Not only was _Igneefe _setting, but clouds were rolling in. She turned to Bernard, "Hey, shouldn't you be getting back to your group now?" Abraham directed her attention to the distance with the tap of a paw, and she noticed Yanew as he approached, floating about five inches from the ground, an expression of controlled annoyance shaping his features. "Pardon me, Miss," he began, "but if you wouldn't mind excusing my friend here, it's past time he should have been back."

Roxanne sent him an icy look with her blue eyes and Abraham mimicked, "I wasn't stalling him." She said matter-of-factly, "I was actually just saying the same thing. Pardon yourself."

Yanew blinked at her, looked at Bernard a moment, who was still immersed by books, and back at her. "Apologies," He mumbled. "I don't think we've met. I'm Yanew, and I believe you are Rox–"

"– Roxanne, yes. I'm hard to be mistaken. It's nice to meet you." Yanew held out his hand, and she hesitated only a moment before offering her own. Their palms touched briefly; not the customary povoirian greeting ritual, which was usually a slap of the hands, but close enough. She had to stop herself from flinching; Yanew's skin temperature was a bit feverish. She reminded herself it was normal for a povoirian.

He gave a flashy smile, "Pleasure is mine." Yanew then turned to Bernard again and tapped him on the shoulder. Bernard jumped a little from being completely focused, but tried to cover it up by growling "What is it?"

"C'mon, Bernard, it's time to go. You're already really late; you don't want to be punished for missing attendance."

He huffed something about getting punished for sneezing and then stood up, handing the E.E back to Roxanne, who also stood. "See you tomorrow?"

She smiled, "Yeah, you bet."

He nodded and faced Yanew, "Alright, lead the way Mr. _Chaperone_," His sarcasm was thick.

Yanew frowned and began heading away, but not before giving Roxanne a quick wave farewell. She mirrored the gesture and went in the opposite direction.

The two went in silence for a few moments, Yanew levitating with Bernard walking beside him and a little behind. Yanew looked him up at down once, "You're not hunching anymore." He observed.

A pair of rich brown eyes flickered in his direction, and were accompanied by an cheery sneer, "Lower gravity does wonders for the spine," He demonstrated by pressing his hands to his back and leaning backwards, all the while still walking. The action was rewarded by three satisfying cracks down Bernard's vertebrae.

Yanew gave a thoughtful "Hmmm," There was a few more moments of silence before he spoke again. He exhaled deeply and said, "I don't think I like this place anymore."

Bernard groaned exaggeratedly and rolled his eyes, "Of course you wouldn't."

"I mean, I do like it here," He continued, "I love how the sky is always changing and the stars and weather and everything, I just…" He paused for a moment, fighting for the right words.

Bernard finished his sentence for him, "You just miss being worshiped, Son of the Lord?"

"I've just been getting this vibe." There was a hardness in his tone that wasn't there before. Bernard took note of it. "I've been getting this vibe, Bernard, this _bad_ vibe, like…like something _bad_ is gonna happen and it's gonna…"

"It's gonna be _bad_?" Bernard finished again, slightly mocking, but then became serious. "Bad like what? What do you think will happen?" His brows burrowed, and he added, "You think it will happen to me?"

Yanew shook his head and shrugged, "I don't know. Just be careful. And walk faster," He ordered, dropping the subject, "The other's are waiting on you. We're going on another educational tour."

Bernard stuffed his hands into the pockets of his uniform and picked up the pace.

* * *

><p>Roxanne walked quickly, trying to beat the growing darkness. Just before she exited the city's center, however, a shadow crossed her path followed by a pair of violet-brown eyes. She felt her lip begin to curl, "Vivinie."<p>

"Hello there, Roxanne!" Vivinie greeted friendly, her smile bright and warm. "It would seem things are going smoothy, yes? Ooh, I'm so very happy for you! Aren't you happy? Of course you are." She flailed her hands in front of her face, "Silly me, clearly you're happy. Why wouldn't you be?"

Roxanne was certain she felt her jaw hit the ground as it went slack. _What in the name of reason is going on with this girl? _She couldn't make any sense of it. Before, Vivinie had been her worst enemy, but now, _now _she was acting as if they had been best friends since birth, and it was freaking Roxanne out. "Wha–,"

Vivinie gladly interrupted, "Oh, yes, please, tell me all about it! But wait, we should find a proper place to sit down first before he we chat, don't you agree? And Roxanne," She fixed her with the sweetest smile she could muster, "I cannot say it enough – I am so happy for you." She opened her arms wide and came closer for a hug.

"No no no no!" Roxanne said quickly, warding her away with her arms. "No. Not another hug. That first one nearly put me into cardiac arrest. And also, what on Caelumar are you blabbering on about?"

"Come now, Roxanne, quit being coy," Vininie scolded playfully with a small slap at Roxanne's wrists. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Umm, no, I don't." She insisted, blinking dumbly and losing patience.

Vivinie brought a hand up to cup her chin as she pondered aloud coldly, "Are you acting stupid or does it just come that naturally for you?" She rolled her eyes righted herself so she was back to acting overjoyed. "I'm talking about you and Bernard, you goof, you!"

"Me and…me and Bernard?" Roxanne sounded utterly confused, and she was.

"Yes!" Vivinie dodged Roxanne's attempts to block and she wrapped one arm around her shoulders companionably. "Everyone is talking about it. It was a match made by destiny. The two humans that found each other in the great big universe – ooohoohoo, it gives me chills." She shuddered exaggeratedly. "We're all very happy for you, as well as relieved."

Roxanne slipped out backwards from Vivinie's embrace and tipped a contemplative finger at her, "Relieved? Why relieved?" She asked in a serious tone.

Vivinie's face melted into a sly giggling grin, "I was trying to say it in a roundabout fashion, but I'll give it too you straight forward if that's what you wish." Her violet eyes glittered as they narrowed and she leaned in slightly to say in a low voice, "Now that you have a human male, you can stop paying attention Nigmadem and he can focus on being with someone of his own species. Someone worthy of him. You know, someone like me like me?"

"You're vile," Roxanne hissed back.

"Oh, but I haven't gotten to the best part yet, Roxy." She continued gleefully, the words rolling off her tongue honey-smooth, "Everyone is relieved now, because no one has to worry about any ugly, disgusting, tan and blue hybrid babies."

Someone caught Roxanne's fist before it connected with Vivinie's chin. Roxanne saw the mechanical hand and her head whipped around to see two milky yellow eyes staring at like poison ready needles. Tasslers bent her arm backwards until it was painful, Roxanne's breath hitched in her throat. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," His gravelly voice whispered in her ear. Abraham did his best to fend him off, but the eel simply grabbed him and tossed him elsewhere. He let her go and she fell to her knees.

Tasslers went to his master's side and the two turned to leave. "Have a good rest of the night, Roxy," Vivinie said, "You and Bernard have my blessing. Trust me; it's how it should be."

Abraham returned to Roxanne and patted her shoulder gently, his face up turned to hers.

"It's okay, Abraham, I'm fine." She said quietly. Roxanne let him up her other shoulder and she picked herself up off the ground. Her head was spinning with thoughts about what Vivinie had said as she restarted her walk home.

Was that really what everyone was thinking? If she stepped back from the situation, she could see where people would make that connection, seeing as she was girl and he was a boy, and they were the only known ones of their kind. She and Bernard had only just become friends though; nothing more had ever crossed her mind. Had it crossed Bernard's? Did he look at her as a potential mate? And what did Nigmadem think? They were pretty close as friends, certainly, but did he feel any stronger than that? Wouldn't he rather be with someone who looked like him? Though, she really couldn't imagine him being with Vivinie. _That vituperator is delusional. _Roxanne snorted. Vivinie would probably be surprised she even new such big words.

What did she think of it all? She wasn't sure. So long had she been ostracized and frowned upon, she'd never really imagined settling down with anyone. She did know one thing, though – that when she looked at Bernard, her chest twisted in both happiness and sadness at seeing another human, but when she looked at Nigmadem, her heart sped up, her face warmed, and her stomach fluttered.

Which is exactly what happened then, just as she reached the croscalator. There he was, leaning against the silver railing, looking up at the overcast sky. He spotted her in his peripheral vision and suddenly his green eyes were on her, and his mouth upturned – just like always. And then he said, "Roxanne!" with the same excitement and friendliness as always. It seemed like seeing her was a happy surprise that made his day, even though he knew she was going to meet him.

"Hey, Nigma," Roxanne said, with a sad excuse for a smile. Nigma's expression turned into one of concern. "You don't seem happy; did your meeting with Bernard not go well?" He asked as fell in beside her on her walk home.

She reached up to massage her shoulder where it had been abused, "No, that was fine. I even met one of his friends today," She mumbled in response, "but afterwards I ran into Vivinie."

His lips pursed and brows furrowed, "Aaah that explains it. So how did that go?"

"It was interesting to say the least. You could say her friendly streak is over." Roxanne opened her mouth to say more, but no words came out. She wasn't ready to bring up that topic yet. So what she said instead was, "Tasslers twisted my arm pretty good, too."

A high pitch gasp came from behind her and she jumped. She turned around to see Minion holding his metal hands in front of his dome as though he was covering his mouth, it was a look of pure outrage. She hadn't even realized he was with them. "He did not! How dare him! He didn't dislocate it, did he? That no good worm," Minion fretted and came closer to inspect her shoulders.

She laughed and shooed him away, "I'm fine, just sore. Don't worry, _Mom_." She teased with a smirk. "Besides, he actually kind of had a reason this time. I came pretty close to breaking Vivinie's jaw with my knuckles."

"Well, that's still no excuse for his behavior," Minion insisted, crossing his arms.

"And I'm sure Vivinie would have deserved it," added Nigma, though he didn't go further by asking what she had done. He stuck his nose in the air and crossed his arms, mimicking Minion's gesture. Roxanne smiled genuinely. _What a pair. These guys never fail to make me feel better._

Minion continued, "Do you know what the name 'Tasslers' means, Ms. Ritchi? It has two meanings. The first and most common meaning is 'Burden'." He gave a harrumph, "I'd say he's lived up to his title pretty well so far."

"What's the other meaning?" Roxanne asked out of curiosity.

"Its other meaning is 'Slave'. You could say it's an old fashion name," Nigma answered grimly.

She looked appalled, "How cruel." It was easy for her to imagine Vivinie giving her Minion such a name.

Nigmadem looked at the sky again and groaned. Minion chided, "I told you it was going to rain today, Sir. You should have brought your reflector ring like I suggested."

"Oh hush, Minion,"

"I have an extra I can lend you so you don't have to walk home getting wet," Offered Roxanne.

He was still pouting when he looked at her out of the corner of one eye and replied, "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

Roxanne took one of his crossed hands and unfolded it from his chest so she could hold it as she led the way to the Life Center. Nigma's face brightened immediately.

Once at the door, she invited them both in. Minion decided to wait outside, saying, "I don't want be a bother."

Roxanne told Nigmadem to wait at the door while she went off in search of the extra ring. She found it with little trouble, but she paused at what she saw when she came back. Nigma had his hand stuck in the air in what seemed to be a wave hello while his face looked worried, and across the room at the entrance to the next hallway was Nannarry who had gone nearly chalk white like she was about to faint. She was frozen that way and was staring at him with dewy silver eyes, and Nigma didn't know what to do. When he noticed Roxanne he sent her a look that asked for help.

She came closer until she was able to touch Nannarry's shoulder, "Hey," she spoke gently, "Are you okay?"

Nannarry came too with a jolt, and Roxanne took her hand away. Nannarry put a hand to her temple and blinked her eyes in a flurry, "Fine, I'm fine," she said, "…just…flashback…no matter," she muttered almost inaudibly.

"Are you sure?" Roxanne persisted.

"I said I'm fine, didn't I?" Nannarry said sharply. She looked back too Nigma who stiffened under her gaze, "This is Nigmadem, I suppose? You didn't mention he had green eyes."

Roxanne's brows furrowed a bit, "I didn't realize that was important…?"

"It's not," Nannarry grumbled, "It's just rare…that's all. Nice meeting you, Nigmadem. Please excuse me," She left the way she came, hand still at her head.

An awkward silence followed. Nigma finally broke it with a cough, and then asked, "Is she, um. Is she okay? She's not always like that, is she? Because that was…"

"Odd. I know." Roxanne said, concern hidden in her tone. She combed her fingers through her hair and let out a tired breath, "I'll check on her later, don't worry."

"So that was your guardian," He said. It wasn't really a question.

"Yes, that's Nannarry." She nodded, and then held up the extra reflector ring between two fingers.

"Oh! Right," She expected him to take it from her, but instead he held his hand out, palm down. She took it and slid the ring on the appropriate finger. She slowed down when she noticed their hands together. What was it he had said about orange and blue? It was a stark contrast between the two tones of their skin, and his fingers were slightly thicker, and longer than hers. The ring went on smooth and easy.

Nigma also studied their overlapping hands. He thought back to the day of Deciemesh, when Roxanne and Bernard had hugged like they had known each other all their lives. His green eyes shifted to her speckled face. Her blue orbs were still rested on their fingers in thought. Nigma made a decision then. _If Bernard can hug her, I should be able to, too. _

His grip on her hand tightened, and he used it to guide her closer until he took his hand away to wrap it and its partner around her back. Roxanne stiffened at the unexpected action, her hands still trapped between their bodies. "See you tomorrow, Roxanne," she heard him say. It took her a moment for her brain to process, but finally she removed her hands to encircle him with her arms slowly. She gave a small squeeze.

Nigma relaxed in relief when she hugged him back. They separated, and he found her face had reddened. Roxanne gave a small wave, feeling suddenly shy. "See ya." He smiled at her and went out the door, activating his ring as he went so the rain drizzled down an invisible water-repelling force field.

* * *

><p>Six pairs of heels clacked in unison as they walked down the shadowy corridor, echoing off of the polished stone walls. A dim tube of glass snaked in and out of the ceiling like a sea serpent, and within it blurry glowing orbs of synthetic light traveled in a never ending row. The feet were moving with haste, yet their movements were perfectly unified.<p>

"Unimaginable!"

"Improbable!"

"Inconceivable!" The first three men in the walking row exclaimed.

The fourth, a woman, continued, "Completely unthinkable! How could this have happened?

"Something has been overlooked, as unlikely as it seems." Said the fifth, also a woman, and the woman beside her in the position of sixth responded, "It shall be discussed in depth. It will not be overlooked again."

The Minds continued walking until they came to a pole that fed up into a hole in the ceiling. At the base was a platform. They stepped on to it at once and instantly their shoes were magnetized to the surface. Slowly it rose upward in a spiraling motion. At the next floor they began walking again.

"Our Mastermind will not be happy." The first Mind said.

"She will be rather displeased,"

"Enraged!" The next two concurred.

"She will not have seen this coming, indeed," The fourth shook her head.

"No one will have," Agreed the fifth, and the sixth stood up straighter with confidence, "She will know what to do."

The group of six came to what appeared to be a dead end. The wall before them was ornate with engravings of precise 90 and 45 degree angles that radiated a soft blue. In a swift movement they pressed their palms to the wall. Something within the flesh of their hands flashed, and the solid mass blocking their path was no longer so. They phased through, and the wall silently regained its former state.

Beyond the wall was a large dome of a room. Computers, control panels, and monitors made up the circumference of the space, all which encompassed a thick central pillar. A hollow within the pillar held small woman whose cranium seemed to level out like a plateau. Her brown eye brows curled upwards at the ends and her amber eyes were close to bulging. In the background a minion was carrying out tasks.

Too their knees The Minds fell in respect, "Greetings, my Wiser."

"Rise," Ordered the Mastermind, "What brings the set of you Lessers to my headquarters?"

Number six stepped forward to represent, "A predicament has come about. There has been…a breach,"

"A breach? What exactly has been breached, Mind?" She asked. The minion in the distance paused to listen.

"Humans have been –"

"– Humans!" The Mastermind stood from her perch. The minion dropped something and clumsily picked it back up to begin working again. "Humans as in plural, there are _more than one_ human on our planet? How can that be?"

The Mind nodded, "Two to be precise. One is male, and one is female."

"This cannot be aloud, this cannot be aloud!" Her amber eyes were practically yellow with shock. "They could reproduce if left be."

Number one approached, "Perhaps we should have them neutered and spayed," he offered.

She quickly dismissed the idea, "No, that's too generous of a solution. These creatures have primitive brains and so should be dealt will primitively. We will kill them." She faced them and came to a decision, "One of you, whose ever province these _humans_ are in, have your Logic gather its Thoughts and dispose of the invaders. Make sure they are disposed of thoroughly, beginning with the female."

"Yes, my Wiser."


	15. Racing Thoughts

I'm very proud to have finally reached his chapter, I've had a few of the scenes in this part stashed in my head probably since I posted chapter 5 or 6, and now I've finally written them down here in 15. Wow, 15. I remember when I didn't think I would ever write a fiction. I remember when I didn't think I'd make it past 10. XD Lets so where it goes next!  
>Please, if there was something you liked for disliked about this chapter, let me know in a commentreview! I love comments to death, and would love to know your thoughts on this chapter. I mean, if you want to comment that is :) If you don wanna you don godda.  
>Also! New record for me - 5,187 words! Wooh! C:<p>

**Chapter 15: Racing Thoughts**

The principal jumped nearly three feet in the air when the teleporter stationed behind his desk hummed to life and someone materialized on its platform. The last time the thing had been used was back before the former principal had been employed at this shool, so this was the first time he had seen it activate before. It was fair to say his heart was forever weakened by the surprise. An even bigger surprise, however, was the person of authority who had used the teleporter to show up behind him unannounced.

"A-guh," he struggled to form words, "A L-Logic? Why, whu-why would a Logic be sent here?"

"Are you the Wisest in Administration for this educational facility?"

"Why, yes, I'm the principal, but –"

"Good. I require the addresses and permanent records of every pupil enrolled here. Once I have those documents, my Thoughts and I will also conduct a thorough patrol of this building and we expect to not run into any complications for the duration. My party of six will be materializing shortly."

The principal stood up and began towards his monitors immediately. "I-If I may, my Wiser, what is this all about?"

"Nothing to worry about, I assure you," The Logic stated, "Simply a new procedure constructed by The Minds to review the efficiency of our institutions. Random reviews will be conducted every so often. We must make sure our youth is being taught in the most effective ways within the most ideal environments. Don't you agree?"

"Of course, it should have been obvious. Forgive my ignorance, my Wiser." The whites of the principal's eyes flashed as he avoided contact with The Logic's violet brown eyes, handing a type of memory card to him. "Here is the information you requested."

"Relax, Lesser. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about and your facility is top-notch."

As the principal began to sweat, The Logic stepped off of the platform and walked out of the office. He was followed by two other men and four minions, all streaming out of the teleporter single-file. Once in the hall, he gave the order for them to split up, and they all went in separate directions.

The Logic was tall man with an angular cranium, finely polished. He had square chin with a closely shaven beard that didn't go higher than his powdery lower lip. The brows above his sharp eyes were equally as groomed, and he kept his shoulders stiff as he strode through the hallways of the shool. The uniform he wore was tight fitting with decorative silver shoulder pads that matched the pads on his elbows, knees, and heels. The rest was stone grey with black trimmings.

Pupils began flooding the hallways when class was let out for the next, and everyone expertly avoided the man. It was well known that a Logic was not someone you wanted to be involved with ninety-five percent of the time. He scanned the crowd discreetly, looking for that one unmistakable person…

"Unkle!" Suddenly there were arms wrapped around his middle, and looking down he was met with two violet eyes that matched his own. He frowned, this was not who he was seeking. "Don't make me hurt you, Lil'Viv,"

"You know father wouldn't stand for it," Vivinie teased, but let go of him anyway. She looked him up and down once, and spotted the card in his hand. She raised a hand to her chin and smirked, "That looks confidential. Who are you after this time, hmm? Not a pupil?"

"You're right, it is confidential." The Logic walked passed her, but she followed quickly, Tasslers at her side. Felleta and her own minion, as well as a few others, were a fair distance behind. "Oh please, you know I can keep a secret," After receiving a dubious glare, she rolled her eyes and continued, "I can keep secrets, if I try."

She ran ahead and blocked his path, "Wait," His knuckles cracked as they formed fists, and she hesitated a moment. "Unkle, I can help. I know everyone in the shool, even the staff. Whoever you're looking for, I'll be able to point you in the right direction faster than you searching and going through digital files. And- and you'll no longer have to act secretive!"

He thought a moment, and then gave a crooked smile. "Everyone, you said?" Vivinie nodded enthusiastically. A dark chuckle sounded from his long neck, "Perhaps you could be of help, so long as you don't repeat this to a single living, or nonliving, thing."

"I won't," She ensured, "You have my word."

"I don't have to make you promise, do I?" The Logic's eyes narrowed threateningly.

Vivinie swallowed thickly and she rubbed her throat, "No, no that won't be necessary."

"Okay, then," He kneeled down and she bent over so he could whisper in her ear. When he was done, she straightened and her expression was gleefully malicious. "Oh," She almost laughed, "I can most certainly help with this."

* * *

><p>It had been a while since Roxanne actually went to shool. She used to go every day, but began skipping days even before the povoirians landed. Afterwards, she hardly went at all, mostly to spend time with Bernard, but also because it wasn't good for her to go to crowded places anymore. Nannarry continued to say she shouldn't be seen for her own good, so eventually she quit going all together. Not that she was complaining, no one thought he could learn anything anyway – not on scirian level.<p>

Roxanne, with Abraham on her shoulder as per usual, walked slowly down the street she always did, which was comparatively less busy than most days. She walked past the crocalator and even past the Life Center. Her destination was a far one, but not an impossible one, and she had walked there other times before. _Igneefe_ was at a little passed noon in the sky, she was confident she could make it there and back home before night came.

She was coming from another one of her get-togethers with Bernard. As she walked, she thought back to the conversation they had. It had been really awkward when she brought up the topic of reproduction; Bernard had nearly dropped the E.E.D and looked at her like she had suddenly become blue and bald. Yet, it turned out that Bernard wasn't interested in her that way at all, and the thought of having children never crossed his mind. It was a relief to them both that they weren't expected to save the human race by the other.

Bernard had made the comment, "Even if we did have kids, we wouldn't be able to produce a substantial population. Not without incest and the help of science."

Roxanne had replied by telling him the story of Adam and Eve, and how it was told their sons and daughters were the beginning of the human race. But then she had said, "But we aren't living in a time of miracles and supernatural beings. I'm not even sure scirians have a concept of god. It's as you said, it wouldn't be possible without science and experimentation."

They agreed that was not something either of them wanted. She had taken his hand and thanked him for being so understanding, and they shared a tender, platonic hug. The conversation ended with her offering to get him an E.E.D, since he had become so attached to hers.

Huge satellite dishes loomed over a cluster of dome-shaped buildings, all sprouting various antennas and telescopes and such. Roxanne quickened her pace at the sight, she was close.

After walking up to the door, she stood herself in front of a screen and pressed a button to be scanned and granted entry. The screen flashed and a minion appeared – a creature which resembled a puffer-fish with the eyes of a hammerhead shark. It blinked at her once and then puffed up in excitement, shouting "It's Ms. Ritchi! Ms. Ritchi is here!" In the distance someone yelled, "Well let her in already!" The minion pressed a button and a beam of light scanned her body, followed by the front door sliding open for her.

She walked down a long, plain hallway. Roxanne reached the next door on her path, but before she could even try, it opened up on its own and the same minion from before attacked her in a big hug, lifting her off of the floor.

"Ooohhh, here's my favorite alien! How have you been? Are you well? Wait!" The fish looked at her seriously with one eye, "Have you eaten lunch yet?"

"Well, no, but –"

The fish puffed up again with a gasped and dropped Roxanne as if she were burning hot; she had to struggle to not fall on her butt. "That! That won't do – don't go far, I'll be right back with some food!"

Roxanne could only smile and shake her head as the minion sped off. She continued her journey into the building until she came to two men sitting at hug monitors. She coughed into her hand to announce herself, "You two have time for a short visit?"

The men turned around and rose with smiles, "Roxanne!"

She shifted on the balls of her feet bashfully, "Hey there, Derex, Reggen." She shared brief hugs with the two men who found her floating in space.

Derex ruffled her short hair, "So the news didn't lie, you really did cut your hair. It's nice."

She laughed, batting him away and fixing her hair, "Yeah, so I did."

"What's the occasion?" Reggen asked, peering hard at Abraham. "For your visit, I mean. Scruffy isn't glitching again, is he?"

"No, nothing like that. I was actually wondering if you could make another one of these," She held out her Earth Encyclopedia. The device was worn from years of use and abuse, but still functional.

"For the human boy?"

"Yes, that's right." Roxanne nodded. "Can you do that?"

Derex made a pffft noise with his mouth, "Can we do that? Puh-leeze. We still have the blue prints for this thing, Reg?"

When Reggen nodded, Derex snagged the E.E.D from Roxanne's dainty fingers, "Give me half an hour, Rox. This a one-man job."

Reggen rolled his eyes and Roxanne chuckled, "Thanks Derex, I appreciate it."

When he left, Reggen faced Roxanne. His face was more serious that before. "So…how's shool?"

She crossed her arms, "I haven't been going lately,"

"Good. You really shouldn't be seen by anyone anyway, not after –"

Roxanne groaned exaggeratedly, "Ugh! Not you too! I get enough of this kind of grief from Nannarry!"

"Fooood~!" The pufferfish like minion came back and shoved a levitating tray with a full meal in Roxanne's face, "Here, eat this."

"Foomers, calm yourself," Reggen smiled tiredly and pushed her away gently, "She might now even be hungry."

"But she needs nourishment! She's so ill-feed, her hair's falling out!"

He pinched the ridge between his eyes, "You know as well as I do it was cut, Foomers. Now be gone with you, silly fish."

Foomers huffed, "Even so. A growing girl needs food. Please help yourself, Lovey, if you're hungry." The fish turned to leave.

"I'll be sure to do that, thanks." Roxanne said as she went. She then turned back to Reggen expectantly. "Well? Aren't you going to rant at me some abstract reason I shouldn't be seen?"

"Sit down," Reggen gestured towards a chair at the control panels, his voice cold. Taken aback, Roxanne blinked and did as she was told. Reggen took a seat after her and leaned forward so he could rest his chin on his hands, arms propped on his knees. His fingers tented as he stared at her with steely grey brown eyes, his round face was hard where it was normally soft and approachable. "Perhaps Nannarry hasn't been as clear as she could be," he began slowly, "and perhaps that's not something she can control, but she does have her reasons to worry. And believe it or not, we do too."

* * *

><p>Nannarry coughed harshly into her fist and the violent action kick-started her daily headache. She swallowed thickly and coughed once more; her throat was more swollen than usual today. She found it odd, but it wouldn't be the first time it had acted up without reason. She had just finished her inspection for the day, and everything appeared to be in order. Nannarry didn't do much with the animals and specimens held at the Life Center anymore, but she still did her rounds. She had hired hands to do the physical work around the place; all she did was act as manager.<p>

She was now sitting at the old table in the simple kitchen, in the dark holding her head in her hands. The migraine was escalating by the minute. Why was it hurting so badly? It hadn't been this bad since the day of _Deciemesh_.

A knock came from the door. _Roxanne?_ She would only ever call the human child that lived with her by her first name in her head. _Did she lose her keyband again? _Nannarry slowly rose, but still her brain pounded in her skull in protest. She stifled a cough and managed to say, "Coming."

Reaching the door, she leaned against it for a moment to let her vision come back into focus where it had failed after walking to fast. Finally she opened the door –

A spidery gloved hand made its way in, and before Nannarry had time to register those weren't Roxanne's familiar peach fingers, the rest of the body followed through. She staggered back with a slight wobble. "You," She rasped, "You."

"We meet again, Nannarry." The Logic purred sinisterly.

"You," She tried to speak again, but failed. Swallowing sharply, she tried once more, "You, you're not welcome here."

"Oh," he said, with a slight chuckle, "I really don't think that matters. Now tell me," The Logic took a threatening step forward, "Where is the human female?"

* * *

><p>"What do you mean?" Roxanne asked timidly, though she wasn't sure she really wanted to know Reggen's reasons to worry about her being seen.<p>

He sighed and leaned back a little in his chair as he gathered his thoughts. His brown eyes were morose when they met hers again. "Back before you were found," he began once, then backtracked, "No, years back before you were even born, there were four men working in this facility – Derex and I, and two others. We were a great team."

"One week, Derex and I had to visit another station for a meeting. The other two and their three minions were left here to continue working. It only took one week for it to happen, less than that. By sheer chance, they stumbled upon something they shouldn't have; a discovery meant to stay undiscovered."

"The pair had found a star system with orbiting planets that maintained life sustaining conditions, potentially with intelligent beings. The star wasn't far from here, and they couldn't understand why it hadn't been discovered before. So excited where they with their find, and so eager to share it with the world, they contacted the Minds immediately."

Reggen looked away and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath before continuing. "When we came back from that meeting, they were already gone, taken away to some place unspoken, never to be seen again. No reason was ever given to us, nor was their fate, but it's safe to assume the worst."

When he met Roxanne's eyes again, they were full of fresh concern and confusion. "I'm only telling you this so maybe you'll take our warnings a bit more seriously. There is weight behind our words, Roxanne, we aren't just paranoid. I wish you visited us more often so I could have told you that story sooner."

"Sorry about that, I've been distracted…" She admitted sheepishly, and then she promised, "I'll keep my head down more from now on."

_If it's not too late,_ Reggen thought grimly as a different minion entered the room carrying something, _the odds aren't good._ She didn't live with them, but he couldn't help feeling like she was family. Neither of them could, especially since they had found her has an infant. The feeling was mute but mutual.

"Here you are, Ms. Ritchi," The minion, a fish with the appearance of a sailfish twisted into the shape of a seahorse, handed her two shiny devices. He smelled of smoke and had black smudges all over his robotic suit; he looked a little displeased, "Yours has been updated, as well. Sir Derex would be handing them to you himself, but he's dealing with an, um, an operator's error – if you will."

Behind her, Reggen face-palmed, "Thank you, Sizzers. Tell him I said goodbye,"

The minion nodded and left the way he came, calling, "So long, Ms. Ritchi."

Roxanne dehydrated the two devices and stashed them somewhere on her person, and after one final farewell before Reggen went off to help Derex and his malfunction, went on her way.

The sky was now a blushing violet with fraying blue and red ribbons for clouds. Roxanne stared at it as she neared home. All along the way she thought back to what Reggen had told her. Each time sent chills running down her spine, as though even her goose bumps were trying to avoid the implied danger. It wasn't that dark yet, though it was growing darker, but still she felt like she was being watched, being followed. She quickened her footsteps.

It felt immediately wrong when she entered through the front door. Usually, Nannarry would come and greet her at the door to nag about something within minutes, but she didn't show. Roxanne waited at the door a few moments longer to see if she would round the corner of the hallway, but she never did. She took a step forward and paused when she heard some kind of spurting sound that made her start having controlled, fearful breaths. "Nannarry?" Roxanne called out into the darkness. On her shoulder, Abraham tilted his head and shifted his feet fretfully.

That was another thing wrong about this picture. Nannarry knew Roxanne didn't like the dark, and though she herself preferred it that way, there was always at least one light on. The star was setting on the horizon now, so no light peered through the windows to help pierce the perverse darkness of the building which set off Roxanne's imagination. She swallowed her fear and ventured into the hallway, where once again she spoke, "Nannarry?"

Another chocked coughing sound clued Roxanne in to looking towards the right, into the doorless cavity of the kitchen where her eyes focused on a figure on the floor looking back at her. "Nannarry!" Roxanne shrieked in shock and began to run to her side.

"_No!_" Nannarry cried, or something that sounded like it. She sat on her knees with her legs sprawled out to either side, her eyes panicked and her hands flailing in front of her desperately to ward Roxanne off, as if to say _no no, please, stay back! Away!_ Roxanne faltered in her approach and stopped. Her expression was full of confusion and worry, everything in her body was telling her to run to Nannarry's side, but the woman was waving at her fiercely to leave.

Nannarry opened her mouth as if to say something, but instead her eyes bulged and her body curled forward as she began to dry-heave. Her hands went to her throat and she fell into a bout of gruesome hacks and coughs. Roxanne blanched as nothing but droplets of blood fell from her guardian's mouth; her eyes followed them as they joined the rest of the dark liquid on the floor. Nannarry had always had a cough, ever since she could remember, but never had she seen her cough blood.

Roxanne lifted her foot and started to go to her again reflexively, but one of Nannarry's hands shot back out and waved at her again to stop. She took a step back, and gasped when she saw something move from in the shadows. A man came to stand at Nannarry's back and her coughing worsened; she pounded her fist against the floor as if it would help. The man was the tallest she had seen, with dark clothing which blended into the surroundings and silver guards that covered his shoulders, arms, and legs which glinted in the same way his eyes did – sharply and dangerously.

"I assume you're Roxanne," he said in a deep, polished voice. One of his gloved hands came to rest on the crown of Nannarry's head, and the weak woman was slow to flinch away from it as she wheezed. "Don't worry about her, help is on the way. Medics should be here soon." He took a step forward and Nannarry's silver eyes flashed as they followed him, flicking from Roxanne and back. "I came here to talk with you and I found her in this way, but she refuses to get up from the floor. Why don't you and I go sit at the table and discuss some things while we wait?"

Roxanne's feet were frozen as she watched the man carefully, and saw Nannarry's head bob heavily when she tried to shake it back in forth, "_No,_" she rasped, and any other words she intended to say caught in her throat. The man glared at her, "Hush. You _really _shouldn't be speaking." He advanced once more in Roxanne's direction and she took a step back this time. "Come now," he coaxed, "I really feel you'll be interested in what I have to say." Roxanne saw daggers in the slight smile that followed.

"_No!_" Nannarry wailed, full of spit. She tilted her head back shoved her fingers down her throat and, all the while gagging, began clawing at something down deep. Finally, she removed her fingers and braced herself with both hands as blood mixed with vomit poured from her mouth. Roxanne watched in horror as Nannarry spat out something metal, it slid across the floor until it rested at Roxanne's feet – a pill sized object covered in barbs. "_Run!_" Nannarry screamed at her through tears, "_Roxanne_, please, just _run_!"

Roxanne turned on her heels and sprinted back to the front door. Behind her she heard a heavy thud followed by a slew of profanities and foot falls in her direction. She opened the door with haste, and screamed when she saw two pairs of metal hands reaching out for her from both sides. With a quick limbo move, she ran underneath of them; if she had been a head taller she would have been knocked out.

The two ambushing minions crashed into each other in their attempt to catch the human, blocking the Logic's path. "You let her get away!" He snarled, "Move! After her!"

There was no time to think, no time to look back. She could not risk slowing down, not for anything. The conversation with Reggen rang loudly in her head, _taken away to some place unspoken, never to be seen again_. But why were they even after her? What had she done? _No, stop thinking! _She ran faster in the random direction her feet had chosen for her.

Soon her lungs were stinging, and her abdomen and legs were burning from the sudden exercise, but she was certain they were still on her tail. She would have to stop soon, or collapse. Suddenly the croscalator came into view and she ran to the top. Risking a look back, she saw the minions from before had transformed their robot bodies into a new form; they were now in the shape of short dolphins, levitating so they appeared to be swimming through the air. They were also much faster now, and would reach her soon. She had to think of something, and quick.

"Ms. Ritchi!" Abraham grabbed her attention and pointed at an approaching vehicle. She understood instantly.

The minion's forced their bodies to move faster, they were almost within grabbing distance when Roxanne jumped over the edge of the croscalator and onto the back of a large cargo shuttle. The fish cursed in surprise and continued the chase.

Roxanne had landed hard on her knees, but only enough to cause bruising. She watched the minions following her from behind and she thought desperately about what her next move should be; there was no way she could keep running forever. At least now she could rest and catch her breath a moment.

Panic seized her when the shuttle began to slow down, and she looked back to see the minions getting closer. Where would she go? Would it slow down soon enough for her to jump off without getting caught? She looked around for a sign of hope – and found one: a bush. One of the very few decorating the streets and it was right in front of Nigmadem's place. Roxanne readied herself by getting into position and the shuttle slowed down further. She timed her jump for right before the bush passed her and landed squarely.

"Ah!" The branches scratched through her clothing a little bit, but other than that she was unharmed. She almost fell over as she tried to find her balance before dashing into the familiar building.

The lobby was even more crowded than the last time she was here, Roxanne wasn't sure if it was a blessing or disadvantage. No time to consider, she dove into the array. She pushed people out of the way and shouldered them to the side, earning a few insults as she went. The back door was insight, but someone walked in front of her and she slammed face-first into their chest. She backed up and looked at him long enough to see it was a man with brown eyes and a beard-mustache combo. "_s'cuseme!_" She mumbled and darted around him.

Through the door covered in digital clouds, through the storage room, and through the jungle of wires. Finally, she was back outside and she was facing…a wall. She stared at it blankly. Was this wall here the last time? She tried to remember. _Haffreck it! The last time, Minion helped me over! _Roxanne heard something from the other side of the door and her heart lurched. She jumped and tried to grab the top of the wall but failed. She tried again, but it was too tall. Her heart felt like it would explode out of fear. One more try – she managed a loose hold with one hand and the other quickly joined it. The wall was slippery, and her shoes were smooth, but somehow she managed to pull herself up to the top.

The sound of a door slamming and feet hitting metal from the other side of the door she came through spurred her forward. She brought her leg to the other side of the wall, but the thinness of the structure caused her to slip off prematurely and she landed wrong. "Gah!" She yelped and bit her knuckles to silence herself. Pain shot through her leg – she had most certainly sprained her ankle. Badly. Tears picked her eyes and the struggled to stand. Abraham jumped down from her shoulder and hugged her leg, locking his limbs in a kind of brace. It helped, but only a little.

She began limping, trying not to think about how dark it was in the big woods, trying not to remember the last time she was here and she had had two guides and her eyes closed, trying not to think of how much closer her chasers had probably gotten, trying not to focus on the unbearable pain coming with each step she took that slowed her down. _Come on, it's just a little pain, you can still run. _She may not be able to learn higher level mathematics, but pain was basic. Pain was primitive. She could learn to deal with pain. Roxanne pushed herself and soon was running again at an odd gate.

Maybe she would be able to lose them in the trees if she just got far enough and found a place to hide. Not likely, though, considering the trail of broken twigs and crunched leaves she was leaving behind and how loud each of her feet were as they pressed into the underbrush, not to mention whatever tracking technology her targets had. _But maybe, maybe I can – _"Gasp!"

In front of her the ground had turned into the sky. It was nothing but stars and clouds at a perfect cliff, and she was going to fall – going to fall into an endless hole of sky and she wasn't going to stop in time. Her feet skidded, but the pain in her ankle made her trip, she let out a yelp. Suddenly she was waist deep in water and the sky surrounding her was distorted with ripples. Roxanne felt dizzy and she raised herself off her knees which had sunk into the mud at the bottom of the pond she found herself in.

Looking back at the shore, she saw Abraham pacing worriedly, looking back at the woods and then at her like he wanted to join her but didn't want to get wet. He had jumped off last minute when he saw where she was headed. "Ms. Ritchi, I – oh, _Ms. Ritchi, _what? What am I to do? What are you to do? To do?" It sounded like he was whining in distress and on the verge of a glitch.

Roxanne felt her lip quiver – from the cold of the water or from emotion, she wasn't sure. "G-go hide in the woods!" She yell-whispered, in vain, she could hear the crackling of leaves as her chasers neared. "I'll…I'll…" She looked around and knew she couldn't back track. Her best bet was to swim forward.

Pushing off with her good foot, she waded out into the depths and began stroking with her arms, aiming for the other side of the pond which was plentiful with boulders. She dove under the reflective surface and shut her eyes to the murkiness beneath, pushing outward with her hands and kicking unevenly with her feet, certainly making splashes. Closer to the end, she came up for a breath and dove again, reaching out for the stones. Roxanne opened her eyes under the water and saw the rocks; her hand went to touch one to get a grip and climb out.

She nearly inhaled under water in surprise when her hand went through the rock instead. Roxanne tested it with her other hand and felt around only to find it completely hollow, while all the other rocks were concrete. Breaching for a deep breath one last time, she made a decision. She stuck her head in first and her body followed into a narrow passage hidden behind the false bolder. At the same moment, the Logic, minions, and two other men burst through the tree line.


	16. Star Sized Secret

Today was officially my last day of High School ;_; I'm so sad happy right now, haha.  
>But back on topic, here is chapter 16 of Reversed. I don't know how I feel about it, I couldn't think of any other way to do a chapter like this...ehh, you'll know what I mean when you read it, if you read it xD I would highly appreciate critique and comments on this chapter in particular, but only if you feel up to it. Enjoy! It's full of big reveals.<br>Also, 3,969 words. Chapter 17 will be fun to write, I'll post it as soon as I'm finished with it.

**Chapter 16: Star Sized Secret **

"Her foot prints end at the water's edge, Sir!" one of the minions shouted in surprised.

The Logic was seething with barely capped rage, "Then after her!" He hissed. He glared at the two fish before him, "The both of you!"

"Do you really think she would have gone into the pond?"One of the two men behind him asked.

"It's the only place she could have gone; she must be hiding in the reeds or holding her breath. You two should search the surrounding area just to be sure."

The thoughts walked off in opposite directions as the minions knelt their robotic bodies down to dump themselves out of their glass domes and into the pond. The water was still murky and full of swirls of mud were it had recently been disturbed, that was a good sign the female human had gone this way. The first minion, a creature with a turtle-like head on a lobsters body, swam about the shallower regions and investigated the clusters of pond grass while the other, a flounder type specimen with needle teeth and serrated fins, searched the depths.

The first minion reached the rocks near the far end of the pond and tapped on a few of them with his claws. He came to the conclusion she wasn't hiding around the boulders and met with the other minion at the center of the pond. "Any luck?" The flounder asked, and the other shook his head negatively. The both of them resurfaced, "She's nowhere in the water!"

"She isn't in the trees on this side, either!" A thought shouted.

"I've found something!" The second thought stood up from his knees from where he'd been searching the bushes with something fuzzy and covered in dirt in his hands. The thing was wriggling in an attempt to escape.

"That's the girl's minion," The Logic growled as he approached. He snatched the teddy bear from the man's hands and gripped it by the throat, bringing it close to his face to he could look the machine in its sparkling black eyes. "Tell us where she is, you obsolete automation!"

"Classified," Abraham responded resolutely.

"Then you do know where she is." The Logic's hand tightened around Abraham's plush neck.

The robot was unwavering, "That information is in my confidence. Ms. Ritchi is no place you have not already investigated, simpleton."

"Simpleton! You're the one who's simple, you basic machine! Tell us where the human female is immediately, or I will be forced to extract the information from you myself and shut you down permanently – Arrgh!,"

The Logic dropped Abraham in momentary shock as suddenly beams of light erupted from Abraham's eyes and directly into his. He brought his hands up to cover his eyes in reflex and staggered back, then took his hands away to blink a few times. "It's blinded me! The atrocity has blinded me!"

Abraham took to all fours and dashed away into the shadows, but not without one of the thoughts seeing and giving chase.

The Logic rested against one of the many trees as he massaged his eyeballs. Eventually he began to regain some of his ability to see, and the first blurry thing he saw was a glowing orb floating in his direction though the woods. Had he not known what it was, he'd have thought he was hallucinating. "Where have you been?" He asked the sphere tersely, though he expected no response.

Within the orb was a translucent jellyfish of a pearly color which gave off a soft light. It rippled its body languidly within its tiny levitating enclosure as it moved horizontally through the air. The other minions, who had reentered their pseudo-bodies, backed away suspiciously as the third, bodiless minion approached the pond. The jelly was absent of any antenna but mysteriously still had control over the orb's movement.

"I still don't understand why we were forced to bring that thing with us," The thought who was still present mumbled, "I don't trust anything without a bilateral brain,"

"It was an order from the Mastermind herself. I don't understand it either, but I won't question it from her."

The two men and two minions watched as the Jellyfish disappeared into the water in a straight line; the course looked either to be premeditated, or aimless, both were equal as likely, and it never once faltered in its casual speed.

* * *

><p>Roxanne began to regret her decision to swim through the tunnel beyond the holographic rock when she realized how long it was. It was dark and claustrophobic, with barely enough room to use her arms in some places, while in other areas she was practically crawling her way through. She kicked desperately with her legs, forcing herself to go as fast as she could. A swift current helped pull her in her desired direction, swimming backwards was not an option and turning around was impossible in the small space. Her lungs burned and she was getting dizzy, she couldn't resist the urge to take a breath much longer but she kept her mouth clamped shut. Where was the end to this thing? She was duly aware that the tunnel was at a downwards angle and she was swimming deeper underground.<p>

And then there it was - the mouth of the tunnel's end. Roxanne grabbed the rim of the opening and pulled her way through, then pushed off with her feet towards the water's surface where a green light shown. She felt herself go through something that was denser than water, and was surprised when she fell down from where she had emerged, landing hard onto a hard surface, shoulder first.

Disoriented wasn't the proper word to describe the way she currently felt, in fact it was an understatement. Roxanne didn't even try to comprehend how she could have been swimming down through the water, and then fall down out of the water without going up first. Instead she laid there with her eyes squeezed shut, breathing hard in loud gasps and feeling sore.

When she opened her eyes after a long while of focusing on inhaling and exhaling, she saw above her was a huge green bubble of water miraculously holding its form around a hole in a plain grey wall. It was so large it encompasses part of the ceiling as well, but from what Roxanne could tell the ceiling was rather low anyway. Scooting on her butt to sit up a little, she reached out to touch the water's surface. It didn't immediately give away to her palm and was rather slimy, but when her hand went through it sent a great ripple through the mass. No water escaped when she took her hand out though her skin was wet, the hole she created in the membrane disappeared. _Huh. _Roxanne thought to herself numbly. _That's something new. Not like everything else today has been normal._

Slowly she turned her head left to find what looked like an endless hallway of empty blackness. Looking right provided the same thing. What a wonderful place to be afraid of the dark. Her back ached as she sat up straighter and turned around, her blue eyes trailed up the floor behind her. It was made of metal and stone, or something like it, and a potential tripping hazard was provided by deep trenches. She counted six trenches, each slightly different in size, from about a foot's length to a foot and a half and about five yards apart from one another, and they all stretched infinitely into the darkness of the halls. Roxanne wondered if they were tracks to some kind of vehicle. Her eyes continued to rise until she saw the other wall opposite her. It was a good distance away from her and rather shadowy, but she could see large bulky shapes taking up space there. It was time to stand up and investigate.

With a slight groan, Roxanne crawled away from the water bubble and shakily stood up. Her legs trembled and her bad ankle throbbed more than ever, but she started to walk forward anyway. Previous thoughts of this place being some kind of tunnel for a train or metro were dashed when she got closer to the trenches and saw they too were plunges into never ending darkness. She was careful stepping over them as she hobbled toward the farther wall.

The only light in this place was what managed to leak through the long tunnel beyond the water bubble, which was beneath rocks and a pond with various plants, all of which was hidden in a wood, not to mention the star was down by now. In short, there was little to no light at all. Roxanne shook off any remaining moister from her hands and reached in to grab the two dehydrated spheres in her pocket. Their glowing blue quality provided enough illumination to help her see.

The bulky shapes turned out to be control panels of some sort, but none like what Roxanne had ever seen before. The technology looked ancient – foreign even. Everything was layered in a thick blanket of dust, and Roxanne wondered what kind of forgotten place she had stumbled upon. She ran her hand over one of the panels, gently brushing away the filth to reveal a keyboard. She risked pushing one of them, and was rewarded with a faint tap sound, but nothing else happened. It was strange seeing a keyboard that wasn't flat, or chrome, or touch screen.

A cabinet caught her attention. She tugged at the door a few times and it finally opened up, giving much resistance. She had to put a lot of power into the action; the door simply did not want to budge. Once fully agape, she looked inside. She gave a gasp and covered her mouth, it echoed throughout the passage. Before her was something she didn't believe still existed on this planet.

With trembling hands she reached in a picked up one of the many books from the stash. "Oh my life…" Her heart was filled with a strange excitement at her discovery. It was rare to find items so aged. Things weren't allowed to get old on Caelumar, because it wasn't long before they were obsolete and replaced with the next best thing. Newer, better, faster, stronger, smarter. Cleaner, shinier, crisper, more orderly.

The books before her were tattered and brittle, paled and with broken spines. And they were absolutely beautiful. The volumes still on the shelves seemed to be manuals and guide books, and they all seemed interesting. But the tome she held in her hands was particularly unique, because it was a journal.

It was leather bound with a plain front and back, and it creaked as she opened it. The first page had written on it the name 'Infinend'. Roxanne let out a shuddery breath. This journal was hand written. Not typed, _hand written_. Hand writing was a dead art, one she hadn't even bothered to teach herself. Flipping through the pages she saw the hand writing changed from entry to entry. She concluded that Infinend was not one, but many authors. It was a book filled with the thoughts and stories of forgotten individuals. Chills raced up her spine. Roxanne couldn't wait to read it. There wasn't much else for her to do while she stayed hidden.

Roxanne suddenly realized that the light and the room had grown, and was continuing to grow. Had someone followed her? She looked back to the water bubble and saw the light was coming from the tunnel. Without much thought, she threw herself into the cabinet and closed the door, which was luckily far easier to close than open. Her heart was racing again, or perhaps it never stopped racing from before, she wasn't sure. Her head wasn't exactly clear right now.

Fresh concern flooded her thoughts when she saw what exactly had followed her into the secret hole, and she wondered if she was seeing things. A jellyfish within a water filled orb emerged from the bubble with barely a ripple, made its way to the very center of the hall, and simply stayed there. It pumped its glowing body aimlessly, the orb concrete mid-air. Roxanne contemplated the danger of being seen by a jellyfish, if jellyfish could even see, but decided not to take a chance. It had come down here for a reason, and it gave off an ominous vibe.

After a few minutes of doing nothing, the jelly retreated exactly how it came. Roxanne let out the breath she'd forgotten she was holding in and put her hand over her heart. She climbed out of the cabinet and looked regrettably at the shelf of books she had squashed with her rear; luckily she didn't damage them much further than they were already.

She looked at the journal she still held in her hands and back to the water bubble. Despite her confidence that she hadn't been seen and that nothing else would be coming down to search for her, she decided to stay close to the cabinet in case she needed to jump inside again. Roxanne sat down on the freezing floor with her back to the cabinet doors and opened the book up to its first entry, trying to ignore how cold and wet she was. The date written in the upper corner of the page was unintelligible, and the words were in the symbols of a language she didn't recognized. Frowning, she turned the page. This time the words were in her native tongue, she guessed the first entry had been written twice. Skipping ahead she found this was the pattern throughout. _How curious_. Flipping back, she returned to the first entry and began to read.

"_It is the same thing each time with these Earth-Tones, always thinking of bazaar new projects that would be otherwise impossible without our technology. Pyramids, statues, and walls for no other reason than to honor deities, it's completely illogical. They even view us as some kind of supernatural race and worship us as gods. They would be hopeless without us. We, the Sky-Tones, have such intelligence and inventiveness held within out massive craniums, while their cranial capacity is much less impressive." _

Roxanne paused. How old is this journal exactly? These Sky-Tones sounded like the Scirians enough, but these Earth-Tones…she continued the entry.

"_Being forced to cohabitate with their kind is unfortunate and unfair. No matter how distant we keep from them, they merely return and pray harder at our feet for our miracles. And no matter how pleasurable it is to be treated as divine, we cannot help but feel we are meant for something greater beyond our humble origins. We Sky-Tones are planning a voyage to relocated somewhere past this sky, to a place we can call our own dominion. I believe the voyage will be successful. What better explanation for the color of our skin than it being a prophecy? Sky blue – clearly our kind is meant for great things beyond the stars._

_~Infinend"_

She shivered, but not from the cold. These Sky-Tones were most definitely Scirian, that much was clear. The other bits of information she was given were confusing though, and made her feel odd. The next entry only added to it.

"_The planet we have claimed is completely blue from afar, and mostly water. Blue is our signature color; clearly this was meant to be. It shall be called Caelumar. No longer are we 'Sky-Tones'. We are Skyrians, for we have conquered gravity and space, we are of the sky._

_~Infinend"_

Roxanne went to the next page and felt her chest tighten.

"_From Caelumar we have watched the Earth-Tones. They have renamed themselves 'Humans'. They should call themselves 'Humor-mans' instead, because their slow progression is comical. I find it hard to believe we evolved from such a pathetic ancestor._

_~Infinend"_

The journal hit the floor and it was kicked away in a flurry. Roxanne hugged her knees to her chest and tried to control her breathing as she stared at the book now sprawled out on the floor, pages down. Scirians and Humans shared an ancestor. No, scratch that, Scirians _evolved_ from Humans. They were a branch of Human being! If this was so, why does everyone act like she's an alien; why isn't this common knowledge? How does no one know about Earth? What other huge secrets did this diary contain?

Roxanne wasn't sure if she wanted to find out, yet her natural curiosity over powered her apprehension. She had to know. Taking a deep breath, she picked the book back up and continued where she left off. She skimmed a passage about the discovery of intelligent fish on the newly claimed planet, and the decision to experiment with combining robot technology with living organisms. The following passage caught her eye again; it had been written several years after the previous ones.

"_When we relocated to this planet, we were well aware of its slow revolution around the Sun. We did not know until recently, though, that its path of orbit is extremely eccentric. Currently, we are at the perfect position with the Sun for life sustaining conditions. Eventually this will no longer be the case. Slowly but surely we are venturing further and further away from the Sun, to the point where our planet will become frozen and inhospitable. Whatever the case, however, we refuse to return to Earth. A plan is in development to save Caelumar. By using materials from the neighboring planets we will construct a massive retractable dome which will cover the entirety of the planet, preserving the atmosphere and keeping us warm until we are once again close to the Sun._

_~Infinend"_

Looking up from the text, Roxanne studied the tunnel she was in once more. It dawned on her that she must be in one of the places the domes retracted to, hidden completely under the crust of the earth. The trenches in the floor weren't tracks; they were the edges of the dome. According to the next date, it wasn't until 2,500 years later the journal was picked up again to be written in. By the entry's words it seemed the book had been forgotten by society, until an event came that was paramount enough to write down on paper.

"_Many developments have been made since the last time ink was put to paper in this antique record. We are polishing cyborg technology, specifically the engineering of sentient ichthyoids capable of comprehending language and communicating, as well as having the ability to manipulate machines with brain signals to perform simple tasks. Our scientific clarity and understanding of the universe has become our legacy, and our domination of the sky is ancient history. We have renamed ourselves once again. No longer are we Skyrians, now we are Scirians! We are people of science! The most important event to pass was our departure from the Solar System. Caelumar's orbit was too extreme and as a result escaped the Suns pull. For a while we drifted through space as a wondering planet. The domes we built to protect us held up, though, and we survived under a metal sky. Fate was in our favor, however, and destiny came upon us when a new star pulled us in. The star was named _Igneefe_ in honor of the newly ignited flame of our life here in this system. Other planets orbit this star. Discovery awaits._

_~Infinend"_

She briefly read the next paragraph, which was about making contract with the Povoirians. It described them as humanoid with intelligence beneath their own, and with strength in their physical and other natural abilities. It went on to say studies would be discreetly conducted upon them and their planet, after making allies with them. The passage that followed gripped her, and Roxanne found she could not stop reading once she began.

"_Looking back at our humble beginnings, we have found the Humans have begun to advance at an increasing rate. We feel it would be in the best interest that the scirian race stays ignorant of Earth and Human existence. If it was known, people would be tempted with the concept of integration. This should be avoided at all costs. By sending out multiple probes into space we will use cloaking technology to completely hide the Solar System. When observers look up into the sky, they will see nothing but blackness. From now on we are our own species. We have always been on this planet, and we have always orbited _Igneefe_. Destiny, let it be so._

_~Infinend"_

"_Observations of the Humans are concerning. They are now advancing at an alarming pace. Already have they breached the sky and have begun exploring well beyond their own moon. This is an aggressive race. Something __must be done__, will be done._

_~Infinend"_

"_A prototype weapon has been designed. We call it a Star Catalyst. It is designed to travel to the core of a star and quicken its expiration. We will continue to perfect this first model._

_~Infinend"_

"_The Catalyst Model 1 has been launched in a direct course to the sun. It will penetrate in exactly 16 earth days. It will activate on contact. In 1,000 years, the sun will die. Infestation of the Human kind will be prevented in their extinction, fate willing._

_~Infinend"_

Even before Roxanne could comprehend what she had just read, tears began to stream down her freckled cheeks. The death of the sun wasn't a natural occurrence. The human race hadn't simply ended; it had been exterminated, by no other than the blue people her parents had sent her to for her own protection. Oh, how wrong they had been. How very, truly wrong.

Understanding hit her like a ton of bricks. It was no wonder she had been targeted by the scirian government, she was a parasite whose existence was never supposed to be known. By simply being here, she was threatening to reveal a secret that had been kept for eons. And now, thanks to Deciemesh, it was a well known fact to anyone who knew the true history of this planet, that their master plan had been unsuccessful by the survival of two unfortunate souls.

_Bernard. I have to warn Bernard!_ The thought came to her in a rush, but she didn't stand up. She couldn't. Her legs were numb and so was her mind. She could only bring herself to curl up into a ball and weep while digesting the horrific information. She wished Abraham was there.

* * *

><p>The Logic brought a hand up to his ear and pressed a button on the communicator he was wearing. Today had been a long day of failure for him, but hopefully it hadn't been a total loss. They had been given orders to do away with the female first, but he had sent his own minion out to investigate the male for when his time came.<p>

"Thrashers," He annunciated into the air, "Thrashers, can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you, Sir." A gravely female voice replied. She sounded worried.

"We've ran into some complications involving capture of the female. What's the status of male?"

"We'll, Sir…" The voice was reluctant to speak.

"We'll, what?" The Logic growled.

"The male has vanished, Sir. He's no were to be found."


	17. Blindsided

Yay, 17 is here~ Only two more chapters before I have no idea what'll happen next XD But I'll figure it out, no worries. This chapter is full of angst and romance and shocks and deception and crap, so prepare yourselves. Tell me if you find any errors and, you know, review if you want too  
>:D Enjoy~<br>4,522 words.

**Chapter 17: Blindsided**

This was a great idea.

Nigmadem sat at a desk in his room, tinkering with a new gadget, all the while smiling to himself. He was thinking about what he had done yesterday afternoon, and sure, their very well maybe consequences in the future because of it, but still, if things worked out it would be all worth it. He patted a lump in his pocket and recalled the events that had transpired.

_Igneefe_ had been just short of being in the center of the sky, and he had been walking towards the center of the city. He had been waiting at the croscalator, but Roxanne had been running late. He concluded she was having an unusually long conversation with that Bernard character. In fact, their conversations had been growing progressively longer and longer every day. That thought sat like a stone in his heart.

He had already made a decision about that. Watching Roxanne bond with the human male in such away made him realize his true feelings, and he needed to confess them to her before it was too late. Nigma had a feeling Roxanne liked him too, but if she didn't know how he felt, she would most certainly end up with Bernard. That was it, wasn't it? He wanted to make sure Roxanne knew she had a choice? He wasn't about to let her do something she might regret without thinking about it first.

And if he was too late, well….he subconsciously lifted his hand to touch plan-B, which was fastened neatly around his neck. _But, _he had thought, _hopefully it won't come to that._

That was when he rounded a corner and spotted Roxanne and Bernard sitting on the bench they always sat at, with the povoiran space shuttle looming gloriously before them, gleaming, gold, and egg shaped. He stopped where he stood and observed; it didn't look like they were anywhere close to stopping. They were talking animatedly, both smiling and laughing – he couldn't hear what they were saying but they sounded relieved. Then Roxanne looked down at her hands and back up at Bernard with a bigger smile than before. When she stood up and opened her arms, Bernard had mirrored the action and they shared a long hug.

It was awful. Nigma hadn't needed to know what exactly they said to know what they discussed, he was sure. He was too late, Roxanne and Bernard were now an item. Everyone would approve and be happy for them. They would say they were destined to be together, to have found one another in all of space like this. How absolutely terrible.

After saying goodbyes, Roxanne had begun to walk in Nigma's direction, but he quickly dashed back down the street and around a building to go another way into the city's center. He still had plan-B.

He had been pleased to see Bernard was still sitting at the bench. He appeared to be waiting for someone, but Nigmadem had paid no mind. He walked casually up to the blonde and coughed into his hand to announce his presence, pointing with a waggling finger, "Um, Barry, right?" he feigned ignorance.

Bernard had looked up, surprised, "Bernard,"

"Burr-naarr-Duh, of course." Nigma took pleasure in the glare that Bernard sent him.

"And you're that guy Roxanne always hangs around with and talks about, Nigmadem,"

He had felt invisible hackles bristle up his back at the mention of her name, but he smiled wider, "Yes, you would be right. What do you think about Roxanne, hmm Burrnarrd?"

Bernard's brows had furrowed in confusion, and his voice had been flat as he replied, "She's pretty great, I guess. I mean, she is another human."

"Is that so? Well, tell me Burrnarrd, I just got this new necklace, do you think she'd like it?"

He had lifted his chin and brought a hand to pinch the pendant with two fingers as Bernard leaned in to get a better look, adjusting his spectacles. Bernard had had a look of reluctance as he peered at the chocker around his neck. Nigma had pressed the bottom of the jewel with his thumb as Bernard began to reply, "Well…Agh!"

A blinding blue light shot through Bernard's glasses and into his eyes. He had recoiled as it scanned his entire body, and it disappeared when Nigmadem released his pointer finger from the top of the pendant. "Oh, I'm sorry, I had no idea it could do that!" He exclaimed with an exaggeratedly worried tone, hand over his heart. "Here, maybe this will help?" He took out a dehydration gun, aimed, and fired before Bernard had the chance to look up and see what 'this' was. With a slight bounce, Bernard had been turned into a glowing sphere, which then rolled down the bench and into Nigmadem's open palm, and then into his pocket. "Oops! I guess not!" He had cackled, and then hushed himself.

Twisting a tiny screwdriver into the back of the necklace's pendant, he chuckled to himself again. Oh yes, this was a good idea.

Minion entered the room and found Nigma sitting at his desk, laughing to himself. The fish smiled, "Something funny, Sir?"

Nigma jumped, startled, and then played it off by rolling his shoulders with a smile, "Oh, nothing Minion."

"Is that a new invention?" Minion asked, leaning over his master's shoulder. He then looked confused, if not a little worried, "Sir, that's not a …is it?"

Fidgeting under his minions scrutinizing stare, he finished his modification to the necklace and put the cover back on it with a quick twist of his fingers. "No, it's not. It's just something I've made for Roxanne, that's all." He lied lamely.

"Yes, it is." Minion asserted, "You know disguise generators are illegal without proper authorization! What do you plan to do with it, anyway?"

"I told you it's not what it looks like,"

"Have you scanned anyone yet?"

"Min-yon!"

"Let me see it!"

Nigmadem snatched it up behind his back protectively, but Minion swiftly gripped him by the shoulders and spun him around, stealing it by the chain and running off to face a corner where Nigma couldn't reach.

Nigma jumped up and down behind him, trying to climb up his robotic body to see what he was doing, until suddenly the robot body vanished in a flash of blue and Nigma landed on the floor with a loud thud.

Minion looked himself up and down and let out an undignified scream in Bernard's voice. "Sir! You didn't!" He was now the spitting image of the human male. The fish tried to make sense of it all, and when it clicked he turned to face his master, who was now pouting on the floor. "This is about Ms. Ritchi isn't it?"

Standing and dusting nonexistent dirt from off his tight pants, he huffed, "You won't believe me if I say no anyway." He yanked the necklace from Minion's metal hands and deactivated the disguise.

"Sir, I don't know exactly what you're planning but I know it isn't a good idea."

"Oh, what do you know?" Nigma mumbled, fastening the chocker around his neck.

Minion shuffled his feet uncomfortably. He really hated when he and his Sir argued. Forming fists and frowning, he scolded "I don't know much, but I do know this. This is not something you can decide for her."

Nigma started walking towards the door, "I'm not deciding for her, I'm giving her a choice."

"How is pretending to be Bernard giving her a choice?"

He paused for a moment, and then continued out the door.

_This is not going to end well, whatever it is, _Minion thought worriedly. Turning back to the desk with a sigh, he spotted something that made his fins flare wildly – an unopened case of brown contact lenses. "Uh-oh." He ran to the door and threw his body into the hall, calling "Sir! Sir, you forgot something!" But the hallway was empty.

* * *

><p>The lobby was crowded when Nigmadem walked out of the glass elevator. Everyone was talking heatedly in large clusters; he could barely see the other side of the room. He then heard someone calling his name and he looked around for the source. Spotting a hand waving to him, his eyes trailed down the arm until finding a face. Curious, he quickly walked over.<p>

"Father, what is it? Why is everyone in a frenzie?"

Nigmadem got his looks from his father, a man named Tukun. They had nearly the same exact build and facial structure, only his father had rich brown eyes and sported a fine beard and mustache combo. As far as scirians go, his father was rather hairy. He took his son by the shoulder and led him over to a wall where they could talk away from the horde of people.

"They're all talking about Roxanne." Tukun said calmly, though in his eyes was a hint of concern.

Nigma's expression hardened, "Why? What are they saying about her?"

"Well, she was in here last night – " Tukun began, but Nigmadem interrupted.

"Wha - you met Roxanne? Why was she in here?"

"I didn't exactly meet her, son, we didn't even lock hands. Didn't have a chance really, she just ran into me," One of Nigma's brows rose questioningly at this but his father continued before he could interrupt again, "No, actually she crashed into me. Nearly knocked me over, in fact I think I have a bruise where her head connected with my chest. Then she excused herself and ran out the back of the building. She seemed to be in a really big hurry. Does this mean anything to you?"

Nigma blinked and thought about it for a moment. "She…she could have gone to the pond, but I don't know why should would go alone…especially at night. What happened next?"

"I don't know" Tukun shook his head and shrugged hopelessly, "I left for work after that." He gave his son a look and brought a hand to his chin, "She isn't always like that, is she, son?"

"No," He answered quickly, "No, not at all." _Doesn't even sound like the same person. Perhaps I should go to the pond?_ He shook his head to himself, _no, no she wouldn't have stayed all night, she hates the dark. She probably went home. _Nigma nodded to no one in particular and looked at Tukun, "Thank you for tell me this. I'm going to go see if I can find her."

They waved farewell and Nigmadem made his way through the crowd and out the door. He was headed to the city center again. This time instead of Bernard waiting for Roxanne at the bench, it will be him. He was going to be their early, but after his conversation with Minion, he wasn't turning back now.

* * *

><p>Gasping, Roxanne resurfaced in the pond, and then climbed up and out of the rocks to catch her breath. She was never going to get used to holding her breath that long without worrying about drowning, but she had a feeling she would be doing it more often than she would like. Taking hold of her shoe, she brought her right ankle up to her lap to examine it. It was still swore and a little swollen from swimming and walking with it. She sighed. She'd better get moving before someone jumped out of the trees to grab her. <em>The trees probably have eyes now, <em>she thought grimly, _but I'll have to risk being seen._

Finding Bernard to warn him of the danger was her first priority, but the image of Nannarry chocking on her own blood on the floor still haunted her. She needed to see if she was still at home, dead or alive. She knew it was unlikely and that she was probably taken away, and that it was a risky detour, but it was something she needed too.

_"__Roxanne__, please, just __run__!"_

Nannarry had called her by her first name for the first time in her life. Yes, she had to go back. If there was just one small chance she was still there, Roxanne would go.

Walking around the pond's edge, she made it to the path that lead back to Nigma's building. She paused and looked around, and then heard something that sounded like _'psst!'_. Tilting her head back she saw Abraham up in a tree. She let out a heavy breath of relief, then tapped one of her shoulders with a hand. Abraham leaped from the tree, and as soon as he landed on her shoulder, she began to run as fast as she was able though the woods.

Going over the wall, through the two back rooms, through the loby, down the road, over the croscalator, down the next street, around the corner, to into the apartment next to the Life Center - easier said than done, but somehow she managed the journey with a limp, aching body, and empty stomach. _Man, if Earth was such a barbaric place, I'd say I would have done pretty well, _she thought with a tiny bit of humor. She stopped at the door and took a few calming breaths. She needed to brace herself, she was afraid of what she might find within. She briefly acknowledged that there might be someone waiting for her beyond the door, but swallowed hard and entered.

She was met with dead silence. Tentatively, she took soft steps into the hallway. A sound grabbed her attention and she paused. Listening closely, she waited until she heard it again. It sounded like…a cough! Someone was coughing!

"Nanna!" Roxanne called out desperately. She rounded the corner and skidded to a halt, then spotted her. She hadn't moved much from where she was the last time Roxanne was here, before being chased. Nannarry has scooted back a little from the middle of the floor to lean against the wall, breathing raspy breaths, red streaks still staining her lips and chin. Slowly at first, then quicker, she opened her eyes and saw Roxanne standing in the kitchen entrance, "R-Roxanne?"

"Oh, _Nanna_," Roxanne ran to her side and took hold of one of her hands. She felt Nannarry squeeze her hand.

Nannarry peered at Roxanne through glazed eyes, "Why? Why have you come back?"

"I had to know, had to know what happened to you after I left," She placed her other hand on Nannarry's cheek.

Nannarry shook her head and Roxanne removed her hand, "You shouldn't have. I'm a terrible person."

"No," Roxanne denied, shaking her head slowly, "No, your –"

"– Yes, I am." She insisted, stronger that before. "I should have told you, should have told you sooner,"

"Tell me … what?"

Nannarry looked Roxanne sadly in the eyes for a long while before answering. "I could have warned you, I wish I had warned you sooner, it's the reason why I didn't want you to be seen by people. I still wanted you to experience life, though, so of course you would have been seen. Roxanne, I knew the danger, I knew the Logic would come for you. An-And I know this because," The old woman screwed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

Roxanne gave her hand a comforting squeeze to encourage her to continue, though she was having mix feelings about the information she was being told and her face was a struggle between worry and confusion.

"- I know this because, he took away my family," She spoke in gasps, "He took them away, but I didn't fight back, then, I didn't resist because I didn't know they weren't coming back, I didn't I would never see them again. My husman, son, and our three minions, they worked with Reggen and Derex. At the observatory, they had found a hidden planet colonized by intelligent beings, and the planet wasn't very far away. They couldn't understand why it hadn't been discovered yet and wished to share their discovery with the world. That's when the Logic came for them."

"I didn't see what my family had seen at the observatory and so he didn't take me with them. Instead he made me swallow this," weakly she lifted her hand to show Roxanne a tiny pill shaped object covered in bent spikes, she recognized it as the metal thing Nannarry had coughed up at her feet when the Logic had been there. It was shiny and metallic and still covered in dried blood. "This," Nannarry began again, "is a promise pill. It's designed to root itself in your esophagus and read brainwaves; it digs into your throat every time you think about saying something you shouldn't. It also works as a tracking device, and if you attempt to remove it, it will release poison into your blood stream."

Understanding sank into Roxanne like ice water and rendered her speechless. Nannarry couldn't have warned her because this pill was silencing her the entire time, and had she tried to remove it, they would have tracked her down and found Roxanne in the process.

Her hand went to her own throat by itself and Roxanne swallowed thickly. She looked Nannarry in the eyes, "You removed it last night when you told me to run. Why didn't the Logic take you away."

"Roxanne, look at me," Nannarry smiled sadly, "I'm weak from blood loss and poison, I'm not going anywhere. Why would he bother taking me away when I'm dying where I sit? Taking me away to have me killed would end my suffering; that would be far too merciful. Roxanne - ,"She says with a sudden firmness, "Roxanne you should go now."

"No," Roxanne shook her head sharply, "No, I can't just leave you here like this."

"You must. Every minute you're here is more dangerous for you. Clearly you have somewhere you can hide, or else you wouldn't be here right now."

Roxanne nodded slowly, eyes to the floor. They flickered back up when Nannarry started talking again.

"Before you go, I need to apologize for being so cold to you for so long." Her lip quivered but her voice was mostly steady. "It took a lot of convincing for from Reggen and Derex to get me to raise you. At first I didn't want to, I really didn't. Because I didn't want to love you. I wanted to hate you,"

Her eyes slammed shut and she gripped Roxanne's hand hard, "I wanted to hate you so much for being from the planet that took my family away. But I did love you, I loved you so much – but, but I couldn't protect you like I wanted to. I wanted to warn you, to tell you the story of a little green eyed boy and his father who explored the wrong corner of space."

"I didn't want to grow attached, though, because I knew, that like them, someday you'd be taken away. But I did love you, like my own, like a daughter and I – you were so smart and brave and I – and so beautiful, beautiful and clever and, and I should have hugged you more!"

Finally, Roxanne couldn't take it anymore and pulled her guardian into an embrace, hugging as tight as she dared without hurting her weakening body. Nannarry hugged her back, weeping into shoulder and leaving a red stain there from her mouth. Roxanne didn't cry though. As hard as it was not to fall apart, she needed to stay strong from now on. She had been crying far too much recently and she wouldn't tolerate anymore tears from herself.

She patted Nannarry on the shoulder and backed up to look at her. "I forgive you, for everything. I understand now. I understand more than you could possibly imagine," She said, thinking back to the journal she had read. "And I'll be okay, okay? I need to leave now, but I'll be okay."

Before leaving, she gave Nannarry a kiss on the forehead and dehydrated everything edible in the kitchen and stuffed them into a bag she slung over her shoulder. She also grabbed all of her clothes and changed into something cleaner with less blood and pond grime. One last farewell and she left for good.

* * *

><p>Nigma was starting to worry a little. It wasn't like Roxanne to be late for her meetings with Bernard, and yet he'd been sitting on the bench by himself for over an hour now and it was beginning to get dark. He didn't like it, because it gave him too much time to have second thoughts and back out of this whole charade before it started. Instead he occupied his mind with worrying about Roxanne. Perhaps he should have gone to the pond after all…<p>

He absent mindedly fiddled with the chain around his neck while he waited, and every now and then someone walked or drove by, but none of them give him a second glance. Anyone who looked would have only seen Bernard sitting on a bench waiting for Roxanne, which had become the norm for weeks.

Suddenly he heard someone whispering Bernard's name along with a _'psst!'_ noise. The whispering became more urgent as soon as he started to look around for the source. It sounded like – he spotted her in the shadows of one of the rare trees of the city, close to an extremely narrow alley and a windowless wall. "Rox –"

"_Shhh!_" Roxanne motioned him over with a frantic wave of her arm.

_Calling Bernard over to a shadowy, secluded location is more than a little scandalous, _Nigmadem thought a little bitterly. He didn't know Roxanne was like that, and he briefly wondered if this was the first time she and Bernard would have gone into a dark alley by themselves, but he quickly erased the idea from his mind before he made himself angry. He stood and began toward her, knowing he had to do something now, or never.

Roxanne watched Bernard walk closer, slowly, and with conflicting emotions written on his features. When he got close enough, she took hold of his shirt and yanked him the rest of the way into the narrow lane between two skyscrapers; it was barely wide enough for one person to fit into. "Bernard, there's something extremely important I need to tell you about –"

"– Me first," He interrupted, and surprise played across Roxanne's face, "I've thought about it, Roxanne, and I've realized I don't want this to happen –"

"What?"

"– not yet, anyway. I need more time to consider –"

"Cosider wha –"

"– and I think you should think about it some more too –"

"Bernard!" Roxanne all but screamed while still trying to whisper, letting out an exasperated huff of air, "Wha, what are you talking about?" She was really confused, and even more annoyed, she needed to warn him he was in danger, but he insisted on talking nonsensical nonsense. It wasn't like him at all, especially since she usually did all of the talking. Something was off about him anyway, she studied his face to try and pin point what it was…

Nigma blinked, taken aback. She didn't know what he was talking about? Blinking a few times, he explained slowly, "I'm talking about…our relationship?"

"Our What! Ber-Bernard, we already agreed we weren't going to be anything but friends just, just, just yesterday!" That's when she noticed them, and she should have noticed them sooner – bright, vivid, unmistakable green eyes that could only belong to one person. Roxanne felt her heart shrivel up for more reasons that one. "…Nigmadem?"

The blood drain from his face behind the disguise and he stood there, frozen. "Ha-how…?"

"Bernard has brown eyes," She said in a way that reminded Nigma of a jungle predator's growl, right before the pounce. "Nigma, what were you trying to do?"

He switched the disguise off and tried not to notice her flinch when she saw his face. How did he forget to change his eyes? Suddenly defensive, he stammered and said the first thing he thought of, "I, I didn't think you would figure out it was me,"

"Oh, no?"

"No! You're just a stupid human! And I…" He knew immediately that he messed up. Why in the world did he say that? That's the opposite of what he thinks! Quickly, he tried to fix it but only made it worse, "I, I mean – no, that's not what I meant, I meant you just don't know much –" _Wait, what, don't say that!_

The damage was visible on Roxanne's crumbling face. She was crushed, her mouth hung open in shock, unable to form words. She was done with words anyway; she spoke better with her knuckles. Somehow, in the small space of the alley, Roxanne lifted her arm and began to slap him – he watched it happen in slow motion – but last minute she changed her mind and her hand formed a fist, connecting squarely with his cheek bone, _Thwack!_

Nigmadem stumbled backward and out of the alley, then fell, his head hitting the roots of the tree. Then there was a weight on his chest, and he opened his eyes to see Roxanne's foot pinning him to the ground. Looking up, he saw her furious face, and he started to tremble slightly.

Roxanne just stared at him staring at her, glaring down with icy blue daggers for eyes and her heart pounding like crazy. She felt completely hurt and betrayed, still confused as to why he was trying to be Bernard in the first place. Not only that, however, she felt terrified for Nigma's life. If he was pretending to be a human, the Logic and his thoughts may have taken him away by mistake. Her voice quivered as she spoke again through gritted teeth, "Don't ever disguise yourself as a human again. EVER!" She jabbed her foot into his chest at the end for emphases and Nigma jerkily nodded in response.

She breathed quickly through her nose, "Where is the real Bernard?"

With twitchy fingers Nigmadem reached into his pocket and took out a glowing blue sphere, and Roxanne took his meaning instantly. She tried not to think about how illegal it was to dehydrate a living creature, especially a person, and a foreigner at that. She snatched the ball up quickly and stuffed it into her own pocket. Then, without a word, Roxanne leaned down and ripped the disguise generator from Nigma's neck. He coughed a little, but remained silent.

Taking her foot from off of him, she looked like she was about to leave. Suddenly, looked him in the face one last time and annunciated lowly, "I don't know much, huh? You'd be surprised, the things I know." Then she vanished into the darkness.

After a long while of just sitting and staring at the sky uncomprehendingly, Nigmadem picked himself up off the ground and went back to sit on the bench. He put his head in his hands and sighed tiredly.

_This was a bad idea._

* * *

><p>Next chapter WayneYanew makes his reappearance, too.


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